self-governed
Americanadjective
-
governed by itself or having self-government, as a state or community; independent.
- Synonyms:
- autonomous
- Antonyms:
- dependent
-
self-regulating; self-determining.
-
exercising self-restraint or self-control.
Other Word Forms
- nonself-governing adjective
- self-governing adjective
Etymology
Origin of self-governed
First recorded in 1700–10
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.
But the cards were signed by both teams at the end, meaning the result would stand in a sport that is proudly self-governed by the players.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
As for China, President Xi Jinping has made few outright threats against the self-governed island of Taiwan recently.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025
Taiwan’s religious diversity and vitality forms a kind of subsoil of the self-governed island’s identity and values.
From New York Times • May 3, 2024
The self-governed enclave had 10,000 fighters at its disposal according to Azerbaijan, whose own army - estimated at over 120,000-strong by Western experts - dwarfed it.
From Reuters • Sep. 29, 2023
Thus it will be seen that though nominally under despotic rule, Norway is really self-governed.
From Due North or Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia by Ballou, Maturin Murray
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.
