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
And increasingly, women are choosing solitude and self-fulfillment over unsatisfying relationships.
—
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
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
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-fulfillment
- self-realization
- self-discovery
- self-exploration
- meditation
- introspection
- self-reflection
- self-examination
Noun
-
This isn’t some crytpic way of talking about what happens without spoiling it, about some sort of self-realization.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The prosecutor challenged a defense claim that Torres ended the abuse in an act of self-realization.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The series revolved around Anka (Debska), a young anthropologist on a journey of self-discovery, who travels to the beautiful landscape of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra mountains only to stumble upon a dead body.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Set in New York City at the turn of the millennium, Don't Stop is a novel of self-discovery and self-knowledge, and the dangers associated with both.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Hilary goes on a journey of self-exploration.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
27 Oct. 2025
-
During an appearance on the Reclaiming With Monica Lewinsky podcast on Tuesday, the Diplomat star shared a fond memory of her former costar amid a discussion about her self-exploration journey through psychedelics, MDMA, mushrooms, and even astrology.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Just like in mindfulness meditation, simply observe your mental processes without judgment.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Weil argues that following his anti-inflammatory food pyramid and taking up practices such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi can help prevent and treat these diseases of chronic inflammation.—
Jason Liebowitz,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
It was thought that the simple last scene of Tom readying Ethan’s bedroom and giving the always subtly expressive Ruffalo a moment of quiet introspection would do the trick.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Even then, there’s still room for some introspection on the record.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
With words infallibly falling short, Pritam mingled realism with a fragmentary style of narration that meshes together social encounters, violent episodes, vivid metaphors, disturbing dreams, memories, intimate self-reflections, and introspection on society.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The book’s journey through the brain ends at the frontal pole, a region involved in self-reflection — thinking about thinking.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
18 Oct. 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
-
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 9 Nov. 2025.
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