self-educated

American  

[self-ej-oo-key-tid, self-] / ˌsɛlfˈɛdʒ ʊˌkeɪ tɪd, ˈsɛlf- /

adjective

1. educated by one's own efforts, especially without formal instruction.

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self-educated British  

adjective

1. educated through one's own efforts without formal instruction

2. educated at one's own expense, without financial aid

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Other Word Forms

• self-educating adjective
• self-education noun

Etymology

Origin of self-educated

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Galton was largely self-educated, an odd man who studied fingerprints and claimed to have proved through testing that praying doesn’t help matters.

From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026

His novel “Caleb Williams” introduces an embattled young hero, born poor and largely self-educated, who perceives justice in exalted terms.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Rigorously self-educated about the law and routinely targeted by guards, these inspiring subjects have stayed dedicated to nonviolent reform.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025

“He endured racism without becoming bitter,” Senator Raphael Warnock writes of his father, a self-educated pastor and Army veteran.

From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2022

But as the largely self-educated son of a Kentucky farmer, he wasn’t able to tap into the knowingly arcane by-ways of classical history with which his predecessors were able to signal their patrician credentials.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith