self-imposed

American  

[self-im-pohzd, self-] / ˈsɛlf ɪmˈpoʊzd, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

1. imposed on one by oneself.

   a self-imposed task.

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self-imposed British  

adjective

1. (of a task, role, or circumstance) having been imposed on oneself by oneself

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Etymology

Origin of self-imposed

First recorded in 1775–85

Explanation

Anything that's self-imposed has been decided by you, not enforced by someone else. If you set a self-imposed bedtime of 11:00, it's completely voluntary. Your school's starting time is decided by the school itself, but if you make sure to get there a half hour before your first class, that's self-imposed. And if your mom instructs you to apologize to a friend whose feelings you hurt, that's not self-imposed, because she's telling you to do it. When someone is described as being in "self-imposed exile," that means they've left the country of their own free will, rather than being made to leave.

Example Sentences

I’m obviously not restricted to only these ingredients, just as Slagle herself isn’t living under some kind of self-imposed 40-item pantry oath.

From Salon • May 22, 2026

Last month Takaichi's government relaxed the country's self-imposed rules to allow exports of lethal military hardware, seeking to grab a larger slice of the booming global market.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

Meanwhile, Coleman was retreating deeper into his bedroom, cutting contact with his family and friends in self-imposed isolation accelerated by the pandemic.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

“Any self-imposed pause could lift at any moment, in secret and without warning,” the Maryland Attorney General’s Office wrote in response.

From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026

Craig was never one to be the bad cop, and my mother stuck to her self-imposed ceasefire on matters of my father’s health.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama