self-imposed

American  

[self-im-pohzd, self-] / ˈsɛlf ɪmˈpoʊzd, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

1. imposed on one by oneself.

   a self-imposed task.

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self-imposed British  

adjective

1. (of a task, role, or circumstance) having been imposed on oneself by oneself

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Etymology

Origin of self-imposed

First recorded in 1775–85

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Explanation

Anything that's self-imposed has been decided by you, not enforced by someone else. If you set a self-imposed bedtime of 11:00, it's completely voluntary. Your school's starting time is decided by the school itself, but if you make sure to get there a half hour before your first class, that's self-imposed. And if your mom instructs you to apologize to a friend whose feelings you hurt, that's not self-imposed, because she's telling you to do it. When someone is described as being in "self-imposed exile," that means they've left the country of their own free will, rather than being made to leave.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-imposed

The former allies became rivals, and Kabila went into self-imposed exile in South Africa.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

The Associated Press reported at the time that Iran has a self-imposed limit on its ballistic missile program, limiting the range to 1,240 miles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

I see countless patients, especially high-functioning women, who follow self-imposed meal plans with perfectionistic zeal—but who also report entire eating episodes they have no real memory of.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

Their arrival will end the couple’s self-imposed exile in California, but won’t necessarily heal the fractures with the rest of the family that prompted them to leave the U.K. six years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

At twenty-one, long before ill-fitting dentures and self-imposed invalidism, my grandmother was something of a beauty.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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