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Synonyms

self-evident

American  
[self-ev-i-duhnt, self-] / ˌsɛlfˈɛv ɪ dənt, ˈsɛlf- /

adjective

  1. evident in itself without proof or demonstration; axiomatic.

    Synonyms:
    self-explanatory, obvious

self-evident British  

adjective

  1. containing its own evidence or proof without need of further demonstration

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of self-evident

First recorded in 1665–75

Vocabulary lists containing self-evident

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The part that so many Americans are taught in school is: “We hold these truths to be self-evident … life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

From Slate Jul. 3, 2026

But Rodin and Michelangelo, as this exhibition wonderfully reminds us, achieved something perhaps rarer: sculpting bodies whose individual force, presence and meaning is entirely self-evident.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 11, 2026

For Kim, the propaganda value of Xi's visit is self-evident.

From BBC Jun. 5, 2026

Burden wrote this long after the fact, when the binary nature of her marriage became self-evident.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 31, 2026

These are facts which, with the self-evident proposition that no being can create another being superior to itself, smashes your silly hypothesis to nothing.”

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

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