self-proclaimed

British  

adjective

1. proclaimed or described by oneself

   the self-proclaimed leader

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Explanation

The adjective self-proclaimed means describing yourself in a certain way. Just because you're a self-proclaimed genius in the kitchen doesn't necessarily mean your family loves your creative recipes. Being self-proclaimed means making an assertion about who you are or what you're skilled at. Sometimes that matches other people's perceptions: you're a self-proclaimed dog expert, and everyone comes to you for advice about their problematic pups. But often it stems from a skewed view of your own abilities. You may be a self-proclaimed Icelandic speaker, but if no one in Reykjavík can understand a word you say, it might be time to re-think the way you describe yourself!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-proclaimed

Instead, like any good reader—Swift is our self-proclaimed English teacher, after all—we might make more progress unpacking the text itself.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

But the cast is uniformly good, not just the aforementioned performers but Mark McKinney as the Indianapolis police chief, Gallagher, and Jonathan Tucker as Cormac McNally, self-proclaimed “FBI profiler.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

American Shields - the self-proclaimed Greatest Woman of All Time - added: "Congrats Katie. Now ride off into the sunset. You deserve it all."

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

The move comes after the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi -- a self-proclaimed workaholic -- adopted a growth strategy in July calling for revisions to the current oversight of work hours.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Otto joined him, occasionally flicking glances over his shoulder at the self-proclaimed hero.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

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