self-assertion

noun

The aggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes.

OriginEnglish assertion ← Middle English self- ← Old English self- →
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Meanings

nounself-assertion (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe aggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes.

    "Self-assertion is foreign to my nature, but I have to hold my ground against opposition."

    1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disintegration Machine
    2 more examples

    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.

    1869, Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

    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.

    1893, Thomas Huxley, Evolution and Ethics

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*selbaz
  4. Old Englishself
  5. Old Englishself-
  6. Middle Englishself-
  7. Englishself-
  8. Englishassertion
  9. Englishself-assertion

From self- + assertion.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish asiansa ajaminen, mielipiteensä ajaminen
  • asiansa ajaminenaggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes
  • mielipiteensä ajaminenaggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes
  • itsensä esiintuominenaggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes
Greek αυτοπροβολή
  • αυτοπροβολή (aftoprovolí)aggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes
Russian самоутвержде́ние
  • самоутвержде́ние (samoutverždénije)aggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes
Swedish självbekräftelse, självhävdelse
  • självbekräftelseaggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes
  • självhävdelseaggressive advancement of one's own opinions or wishes
Cite this entry
APA

self-assertion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-assertion

MLA

“self-assertion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-assertion. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-assertion,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-assertion.

Source: self-assertion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.