self-renewal

noun

self-re·​new·​al ˌself-ri-ˈnü-əl 

-ˈnyü-

plural self-renewals

: the act or process of renewing oneself or itself

For a long time it has been assumed that heart muscle cells are incapable of self-renewal.

—Lisa Melton

More than 500 guests arrive annually between May 13 and Oct. 21 in pursuit of a back-to-basics, kick-in-the-pants approach to self-renewal: no caffeine, low salt, no refined sugar, no seconds.

—Cynthia Dial

Examples of self-renewal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nearly two centuries later, The Economist executive editor John Prideaux set out on his own version of Tocqueville’s journey for a new podcast series — and came away reassured that the country’s capacity for self-renewal remains surprisingly intact. — Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 15 June 2026

Stem cells are are capable of self-renewal and work as a repair system, replacing damaged cells and maintaining tissues, allowing them to be used in regenerative medicine. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 20 Feb. 2026

Some of the cells responded to the damage by stopping their normal self-renewal process and turning into mature pigment cells that soon died. — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2025

Wnt signals help maintain a balance between stem cell self-renewal (keeping enough stem cells in the crypts) and differentiation (turning some stem cells into specialized cells that make up the lining of the intestine). — New Atlas, 24 July 2025

The Capricorn New Moon on the 11th is actually a potent one, and there’s reason to suspect that these efforts at self-renewal are going to move the needle in your current reality. — Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Dec. 2023

By contrast, for all their shortcomings, the democracies have a track record of flexibility, innovation, adaptation, and self-renewal that extends over two centuries. — Aaron L. Friedberg, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-renewal

• biofuel
• contextual
• nonrenewal
• nonsexual
• unusual
• accrual
• nonfuel
• refuel
• renewal
• cruel
• dual
• duel