self-assertion

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *swé?
Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ-der.
Proto-Germanic *selbaz
Old English self
Old English self-
Middle English self-
English self-
English assertion
English self-assertion

    From self- + assertion.

    Pronunciation

    • Audio (US):(file)

    Noun

    self-assertion (uncountable)

    1. The aggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes.
      • 1869, Charles Dickens, David Copperfield:
        If his sweet-tempered wife could have got up any self-assertion against anyone, I am satisfied it could only have been because she was the Beauty’s sister.
      • 1893, Thomas Huxley, Evolution and Ethics:
        In place of ruthless self-assertion it demands self-restraint; in place of thrusting aside, or treading down, all competitors, it requires that the individual shall not merely respect, but shall help his fellows; its influence is directed, not so much to the survival of the fittest, as to the fitting of as many as possible to survive.
      • 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disintegration Machine‎[1], archived from the original on 12 October 2026:
        "Self-assertion is foreign to my nature, but I have to hold my ground against opposition."

    Translations

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