Meaning & use
self-strengthening
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The process of making yourself, your group, or your country stronger or more able to stand on its own.
Grammar: Used as a noun, often after 'a policy of' or 'a period of': a policy of self-strengthening.
Patterns
- a policy of self-strengthening
- economic self-strengthening
- national self-strengthening
The emperor supported a policy of self-strengthening to modernize the army.
For the small island nation, self-strengthening meant building its own energy supply.
Her daily routine is a form of self-strengthening, both physical and mental.
adjectivebefore a noun
Making yourself, a group, or a country stronger or more independent.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: self-strengthening measures, a self-strengthening movement.
Patterns
- self-strengthening measures
- a self-strengthening movement
- self-strengthening reforms
The government introduced self-strengthening reforms to reduce reliance on imports.
He joined a self-strengthening group that met every week to practice public speaking.
Self-strengthening policies helped the country recover after the crisis.
nounproperspecialist
In Chinese history, a late 19th-century movement to adopt Western technology and military methods while keeping Chinese traditions.
Grammar: Often capitalized as 'Self-Strengthening' when referring to the historical movement: the Self-Strengthening Movement.
Patterns
- the Self-Strengthening Movement
The Self-Strengthening Movement aimed to build modern arsenals and shipyards.
Historians debate why the Self-Strengthening Movement failed to save the Qing dynasty.
Common combinations
- a policy of self-strengthening
- The new government announced a policy of self-strengthening to boost local industry.
- self-strengthening measures
- Self-strengthening measures included higher tariffs and new schools.
- economic self-strengthening
- Economic self-strengthening became urgent after the trade embargo.
- the Self-Strengthening Movement
- The Self-Strengthening Movement tried to combine Western guns with Chinese values.
Synonyms and how they differ
- empowerment
- Empowerment often means giving power to people who lack it; self-strengthening stresses doing it for yourself or your own group.
- self-reliance
- Self-reliance is the state of not needing help; self-strengthening is the active process of becoming stronger.
- capacity-building
- Capacity-building is often used for organizations and skills; self-strengthening is broader and can be national or personal.
Opposites
Word family
- self-strengthen verb
- To make yourself stronger: The regime tried to self-strengthen through reforms.
- strengthening noun
- The act of making something stronger: the strengthening of ties between the two countries.
- strength noun
- The quality of being strong: She has great strength of character.
Commonly confused: self-strengthening or self-strength?
self-strengthening vs self-strength
Self-strength is a rare noun meaning inner strength; self-strengthening is the process of becoming stronger.
Practice
The late Qing reformers launched a __________ movement to build modern factories and warships.
Choose one answer.
The blank needs an adjective before 'movement'; 'self-strengthening' is the correct adjective form. 'Self-strengthened' is a past participle and would mean the movement was strengthened, not that it strengthens. 'Self-strengthen' is a verb and cannot modify a noun directly. 'Self-strength' is a noun and does not fit before 'movement'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-strengthening”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.