--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Terms don't define our lives; our lives…" description: "\"Terms don't define our lives; our lives define our terms.\" — Joshua Harris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/joshua-harris-8529_lives_terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-d_709410.png" --- # Terms don't define our lives; our lives define our terms. ![“Terms don't define our lives; our lives define our terms.” quote by Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/joshua-harris-8529_lives_terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-d_709410.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/joshua-harris-8529_lives_terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-d_709410.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/joshua-harris-8529_lives_terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-d_709410.png) > “Terms don't define our lives; our lives define our terms.” [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that personal experience shapes language, not the other way around. **In simple terms:** Life shapes language, not language shaping life. Key Takeaway Live authentically, let experience guide definitions. Themes identity language experience Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - cultural analysis - communication - self‑reflection Key Concepts semantic relativism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do your experiences reshape the words you use? - Can language ever fully encompass personal truth? A Different Perspective Language can be limited in capturing complex lived realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Define Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/define-lives-1960817/) [Define Terms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/define-terms-884821/) [Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) [Lives Define](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-define-4185028/) [Lives Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-lives-499077/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) ## Related quotes > [We must not accept no one's definition of our lives, we define it ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-mamerto/we-must-not-accept-no-one-s-definition-of-our-lives-we-define-it/) [Edwin Mamerto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-mamerto/) > [“The spaces around us define so much more of our lives than we might at first think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriella-bennett/the-spaces-around-us-define-so-much-more-of-our-lives-than-we-might/) [Gabriella Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriella-bennett/) > [“Isn't it funny how the moments that define our lives the most are almost always the smallest? A scattering of almost inconsequential seconds that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-m-herbert/isn-t-it-funny-how-the-moments-that-define-our-lives-the-most-are/) [Brandon M. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-m-herbert/) > [“The moments that define lives aren't always obvious. They don't always scream LEDGE, and nine times out of ten there's no rope to duck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-moments-that-define-lives-aren-t-always-obvious-they-don-t-always/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [The first need of a free people is to define their own terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/the-first-need-of-a-free-people-is-to-define-their-own-terms/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [Existence is beyond the power of words to define: Terms may be used But are none of them absolute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witter-bynner/existence-is-beyond-the-power-of-words-to-define-terms-may-be-used-2/) [Witter Bynner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witter-bynner/) > [“You are not truly yourself until you no longer define yourself in others’ terms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-davis/you-are-not-truly-yourself-until-you-no-longer-define-yourself-in/) [Shawn Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-davis/) > [Good and bad, I define these terms, quite clear, no doubt, somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/good-and-bad-i-define-these-terms-quite-clear-no-doubt-somehow/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You get to define the terms of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/you-get-to-define-the-terms-of-your-life/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“And personalities define themselves in terms of other personalities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/and-personalities-define-themselves-in-terms-of-other-personalities/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [If you wish to converse with me, define your terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/if-you-wish-to-converse-with-me-define-your-terms/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [For he who lives more lives than one more deaths than one must die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/for-he-who-lives-more-lives-than-one-more-deaths-than-one-must-die/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who loves — lives, who lives - works, and who works has some bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/who-loves-lives-who-lives-works-and-who-works-has-some-bread/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [“There will be other lives. There will be other lives for nervous boys with sweaty palms, for bittersweet fumblings in the backseats of cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/there-will-be-other-lives-there-will-be-other-lives-for-nervous-boys/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Our lives as we lead them as passed on to others, whether in physical or mental forms, tingeing all future lives together. This should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/our-lives-as-we-lead-them-as-passed-on-to-others-whether-in-physical/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) ## More by Joshua Harris > [The world takes us to a silver screen on which flickering images of passion and romance play, and as we watch, the world says,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/the-world-takes-us-to-a-silver-screen-on-which-flickering-images-of/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive. We'll keep waiting until tomorrow. If we allow impatience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/when-we-define-our-happiness-by-some-point-in-the-future-it-will/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [You get up and you preach a sermon and people walk away thinking what a great guy - and that's a failure as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/you-get-up-and-you-preach-a-sermon-and-people-walk-away-thinking-what/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [A defining reality for me is what Scripture teaches in Hebrews 12, that God is our father, and that a sign that he loves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/a-defining-reality-for-me-is-what-scripture-teaches-in-hebrews-12/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [“I especially loved the Old Testament. Even as a kid I had a sense of it being slightly illicit. As though someone had slipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/i-especially-loved-the-old-testament-even-as-a-kid-i-had-a-sense-of/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [We can each rest in the knowledge that God is sovereign over our life's situation. No matter where we are today or what mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/we-can-each-rest-in-the-knowledge-that-god-is-sovereign-over-our-life/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [“Purity consists of more than remaining a virgin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/purity-consists-of-more-than-remaining-a-virgin/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [During courtship, guarding each other's purity and refraining from intimacy are the acts of lovemaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/during-courtship-guarding-each-other-s-purity-and-refraining-from/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [“The face that Moses had begged to see—was forbidden to see—was slapped bloody (Exodus 33:19–20). The thorns that God had sent to curse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/the-face-that-moses-had-begged-to-see-was-forbidden-to-see-was/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [I've come to learn that theology matters. It matters not because we want to impress people, but because what we know about God shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/i-ve-come-to-learn-that-theology-matters-it-matters-not-because-we/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [“The irony of their impatience is that only by learning to wait, and by a willingness to accept the bad with the good, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/the-irony-of-their-impatience-is-that-only-by-learning-to-wait-and-by/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [“We can't change by fancy methods. We can't change by mere willpower. But God's Spirit working in us can help us to "will and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/we-can-t-change-by-fancy-methods-we-can-t-change-by-mere-willpower/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [“The right thing at a wrong time is a wrong thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/the-right-thing-at-a-wrong-time-is-a-wrong-thing/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [Courtship is a commitment - it's a promise not to play games with another person's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/courtship-is-a-commitment-it-s-a-promise-not-to-play-games-with/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [Every relationship for a Christian is an opportunity to love another person like God has loved us. To lay down our desires and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/every-relationship-for-a-christian-is-an-opportunity-to-love-another/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) [Explore all 80 Joshua Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) ## More Lives quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [“But life isn’t like that. You can’t be sure how it’s going to come out, even if you do everything right. They turn around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-dellaira/but-life-isn-t-like-that-you-can-t-be-sure-how-it-s-going-to-come-out/) [Ava Dellaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-dellaira/) > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [I believe that government is too large, costs too much, spends too much, and has too much regulatory power in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/i-believe-that-government-is-too-large-costs-too-much-spends-too-much/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) > [“We both suffered but neither of us stopped living our lives and we got so much out of them, so, so much. And now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/we-both-suffered-but-neither-of-us-stopped-living-our-lives-and-we/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [The foundations of our lives are far more fragile than we think. So we are severely shaken when life turns out to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/the-foundations-of-our-lives-are-far-more-fragile-than-we-think-so-we/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [We all are different. Our lives are different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-jedrzejczyk/we-all-are-different-our-lives-are-different/) [Joanna Jedrzejczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-jedrzejczyk/) > [We need to be more conversant with it because science is in our lives. It's in everything. It's in the food we eat. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/we-need-to-be-more-conversant-with-it-because-science-is-in-our-lives/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [“Because before we'd met, we'd both thought in our own ways that our lives were over just as they'd begun, that we were stuck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chamberlain/because-before-we-d-met-we-d-both-thought-in-our-own-ways-that-our/) [Sarah Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chamberlain/) > [As a director, people are trusting you with their lives, with their stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chai-vasarhelyi/as-a-director-people-are-trusting-you-with-their-lives-with-their/) [Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chai-vasarhelyi/) > [Patients' lives are more important than embryos. I do want to avoid the use of embryos if possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/patients-lives-are-more-important-than-embryos-i-do-want-to-avoid-the/) [Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinya-yamanaka/) > [The Filipino embraces civilization and lives and thrives in every clime, in contact with every people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/the-filipino-embraces-civilization-and-lives-and-thrives-in-every/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“When it's clear that we have a commitment to God that comes before anything else in our lives, most people will respect us even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/when-it-s-clear-that-we-have-a-commitment-to-god-that-comes-before/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [I've got passion, and for people who don't, I make them see how trite their lives are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-singleton/i-ve-got-passion-and-for-people-who-don-t-i-make-them-see-how-trite/) [John Singleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-singleton/) [Browse all 2,736 Lives quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Terms don't define our lives; our lives define our terms.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joshua Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-define-our-terms/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-define-our-terms/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/joshua-harris-8529_lives_terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-d_709410.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/joshua-harris-8529_lives_terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-d_709410.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/joshua-harris-8529_lives_terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-d_709410.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Terms don't define our lives; our lives define our terms.” — Joshua Harris", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joshua Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Terms don't define our lives; our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-define-our-terms/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-define-our-terms/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```