self-educated

[self-ej-oo-key-tid, self-]

adjective

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

self-educated

adjective

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

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

Other Word Forms

• self-education noun
• self-educating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-educated¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

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

Read more on Los Angeles Times

John Spargo, a self-educated British stonemason who emigrated to New York in 1901, became an unlikely political theorist of the movement.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Her lack of art-school education may have set her apart but, Homer French points out, every artist is self-educated.

Read more on New York Times

Donkey isn’t allowed to go to school, so she is more or less self-educated, and her only friend is her dog.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He was self-educated and a natural leader, who eventually was betrayed and murdered by his enemies in 1840.

Read more on Los Angeles Times