self-appointed

American  

[self-uh-poin-tid] / ˈsɛlf əˈpɔɪn tɪd /

adjective

1. chosen by oneself to act in a certain capacity or to fulfill a certain function, especially pompously or self-righteously.

   a self-appointed guardian of the public's morals.

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self-appointed British  

adjective

1. having assumed authority without the agreement of others

   a self-appointed critic

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Other Word Forms

• self-appointment
  noun

Etymology

Origin of self-appointed

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-appointed

Married to the legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee until his death in 2014, Quinn has functioned, at least since the 1980s, as the self-appointed spokeswoman of the nation’s permanent political establishment.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

Harbored at different times by Yemen, Syria, East Germany and communist Hungary, this self-appointed tribune of the oppressed was finally captured in Sudan in 1994, then convicted in France of multiple murders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

For Heizer, his training began with one self-appointed task — watching a classic television comedy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025

Adams, 66, is closely associated with Benjamin Netanyahu's government and has previously told BBC Sport he is a "self-appointed ambassador to Israel".

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2025

For years, he’s been the subject of a patchwork of commentaries, numerous judgments, and endless character assessments from a spectrum of self-appointed experts.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey