self-motivated

British

adjective

motivitated or driven by oneself or one's own desires, without any external agency

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

I want to let them know that they can do it as well and however they grew up, everybody can move on from that and be motivated, self-motivated as well.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

"His story was nothing but an attempt to have you believe that his criminal, self-motivated acts were aimed at some lofty and secret purpose," prosecutor Judy Kliewer said.

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2023

Students are more interested and self-motivated during nature-based activities.

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2023

People who ruck a lot and post on the r/Rucking subreddit warn against overloading in a fit of overconfidence, but when it comes to self-motivated exercise, trying too hard has never been my particular problem.

From Slate • Sep. 16, 2023

The sport offers so many opportunities for suffering and so few opportunities for glory that only the most tenaciously self-reliant and self-motivated are likely to succeed at it.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023