as in self-actualization
the feeling of being happy and satisfied because you are doing something that fully uses your abilities and talents
She found self-fulfillment by starting her own business.
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Recent Examples of self-fulfillment
Founders have a wide range of personal reasons for making the pivot, from seeking self-fulfillment to meeting a strategic need in their next chapter.
—
Nina Ajemian, Fortune, 24 July 2025
Turner-Seed’s own writing lays bare a struggle for self-fulfillment, to reconcile the traditional values pushed by her Jewish immigrant parents with a restless need to discover and make her own way.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025
The film explores the dilemma of choosing between self-fulfillment and familial obligations, showing how Joyce learns to embrace her mother’s modern family business and reflecting on the challenges of a globalized generation.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 8 Apr. 2025
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Maslow's model highlights the importance of psychological and self-fulfillment needs.
—Raquel Gomes, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
These cultures tend to view divorce as a justifiable and often necessary step toward self-fulfillment.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
This is Mascaro’s most humane film to date, which isn’t to say that August Winds and Neon Bull weren’t also grounded in the individual’s struggle for self-fulfillment outside the strictures of bourgeois circumscribed society.
—Jay D. Weissberg, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2025
Thus, Mill’s central political concern was not how to create order out of chaos but how to ensure that the beneficiaries of order could achieve self-fulfillment.
—John Micklethwait, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2014
Nina Ajemian, Fortune, 24 July 2025
Turner-Seed’s own writing lays bare a struggle for self-fulfillment, to reconcile the traditional values pushed by her Jewish immigrant parents with a restless need to discover and make her own way.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025
The film explores the dilemma of choosing between self-fulfillment and familial obligations, showing how Joyce learns to embrace her mother’s modern family business and reflecting on the challenges of a globalized generation.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 8 Apr. 2025
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Maslow's model highlights the importance of psychological and self-fulfillment needs.
—Raquel Gomes, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
These cultures tend to view divorce as a justifiable and often necessary step toward self-fulfillment.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
This is Mascaro’s most humane film to date, which isn’t to say that August Winds and Neon Bull weren’t also grounded in the individual’s struggle for self-fulfillment outside the strictures of bourgeois circumscribed society.
—Jay D. Weissberg, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2025
Thus, Mill’s central political concern was not how to create order out of chaos but how to ensure that the beneficiaries of order could achieve self-fulfillment.
—John Micklethwait, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2014
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-fulfillment
- self-realization
- self-discovery
- self-exploration
- meditation
- introspection
- self-reflection
- self-examination
Noun
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The prosecutor challenged a defense claim that Torres ended the abuse in an act of self-realization.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Per Britannica, Jung's psychoanalytic method focuses on integrating conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche to achieve personal growth and self-realization.—
Mekishana Pierre,
EW.com,
3 July 2025
Noun
-
Also, with Venus lighting up your exotic ninth house of self-discovery, themes of love and romance are suddenly more expansive, reminding you that the possibilities are endless.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Xiaoli integrates detailed feedback from every single date to facilitate ongoing self-discovery and improvement.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In undergoing the complex journey of self-exploration, Panic!—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
-
This year has been a bit of self-exploration.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The book alternates between memoir and cookbook, sharing recipes for dishes like Mom’s Lasagna, dandelion frittata and chicken cacciatore, alongside tales of growing up in Buffalo, recollections of family canning season and meditations on the ties between family and food.—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Sleep, meditation, and yoga help overall coping and pain.—
Lana Barhum,
Verywell Health,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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However, the song isn’t really a diss track towards Taylor, but rather an introspection song for Charli.—
StyleCaster Editors,
StyleCaster,
3 Oct. 2025
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Many observers fast from food and water for 25 hours to facilitate deep introspection.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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That spirit manages to survive a patently modern star turn from Mark Wahlberg, whose incapacity for nuance and self-reflection is well-served by a role that has little interest in either.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
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This album juxtaposes moments of self-reflection with themes of emotional empowerment, chronicling her journey toward healing and the pursuit of new experiences.—
Tere Aguilera,
Billboard,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Mother’s turbulent self-examination is incited by the revelation of Sister Agnieszka’s pregnancy in the film’s first Act.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
27 Aug. 2025
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This disciplined self-examination is the foundation for refining skills and advancing toward mastery.—
Richard Menger MD MPA,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-fulfillment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-fulfillment. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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