meta
adj.adj. describing something that refers to itself or its own kind. You use this when a movie talks about being a movie, or when a joke is about jokes.
adj. referring to itself or to the conventions of its own genre; self-referential. Often describes creative works that consciously address their own artifice or structure.
The movie is very meta because the characters know they are in a film.
The comedian's routine became increasingly meta as he started making jokes about the audience's reaction to his previous jokes.
Postmodern literature frequently employs meta narratives to challenge the reader's expectations, forcing an awareness of the text as a constructed object rather than a transparent window into a fictional world.
The technology conglomerate is named for its connotative evocation of the idea of the metaverse, the research tool after metascience.
Named after Meta Schreifer, the sister of a railroad official, from German Meta.
Often follows a linking verb like 'be' or 'feel'; informal in register when used as a standalone descriptor.