self-exile
Americannoun
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a state of exile imposed by oneself.
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a person who lives voluntarily as an exile.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-exile
First recorded in 1820–30
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.
You feel the exhilaration of veering off the path, the self-exile of speeding toward nowhere, the dread that this caravan has veered too far for its own safety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
Queen Sirikit's passing marked "the close of an era" said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai former diplomat and academic on the monarchy who is now in self-exile, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025
He has been in custody in a high-security London prison since 2019, and previously spent seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
From when she first read a script for “Drift” in 2015, Cynthia Erivo committed herself to ensuring that this small-scale drama about self-exile, scars and healing get made.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2023
He had left his home, Corinth, where he was held to be the son of the King, Polybus, and the reason for his self-exile was another Delphic oracle.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
