self-exile

[self-eg-zahyl, -ek-sahyl, self-]

noun

1. a state of exile imposed by oneself.

2. a person who lives voluntarily as an exile.

Other Word Forms

• self-exiled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-exile¹

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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.

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However, the most high-profile and controversial beneficiary is Carles Puigdemont, the former president of Catalonia who led the 2017 secession drive before going into self-exile in Belgium, where he has resided ever since while evading extradition.

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Many activists were arrested, silenced or forced into self-exile.

Read more on Seattle Times

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.

Read more on Seattle Times