Self-improvement
noun ·4 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The following of a disciplined programme to improve one's physical health, mental health or character. countable, uncountable
"He believes that self-improvement and its growing popularity are symptoms of what he calls individualism."
- 2 the act of improving yourself wordnet
- 3 The bettering of one's status. countable, uncountable
"In the year 1851 a small group of workmen in the Locomotive Department of the old Midland Railway Company at Derby met for self-improvement, and formed what was then known as a "reading society"."
Example
More examples"We, Joki and I, talked for a long time that evening, the 10th of March of 2020, as if she were downloading everything important into my brain. She was an avid fan of spirituality. An interesting thing that she said that struck me as wild was that if some people wanted to end the world, then the world would end for them, whilst people who did not want the end would not see it. Different people would see a different "show." Thoughts affected one's reality. She talked about "spirits" and "ghosts." She talked of "dimensions" and "frequencies" concerning spiritual "ascension." She was curious of the word "divine." She believed in sentients on other "planets" in other "solar systems" in other "galaxies." She liked astronomy and cosmology. She was very positive and believed in esoteric self-improvement. She was a rare person. In any case, she was a syncretist, as many Chinese were."
Etymology
From self- + improvement.
Related phrases
More for "self-improvement"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.