semiautonomous

American  

[sem-ee-aw-ton-uh-muhs, sem-ahy-] / ˌsɛm i ɔˈtɒn ə məs, ˌsɛm aɪ- /

adjective

1. partially self-governing, especially with reference to internal affairs.

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Etymology

Origin of semiautonomous

First recorded in 1900–05; semi- + autonomous

Example Sentences

Iraq’s northern route had been halted until this week, when Iraq and the semiautonomous region of Kurdistan reached an agreement to resume the exports through Turkey.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026

He then linked his attempts to gain the semiautonomous Danish territory of Greenland to his failure to clinch the prize, telling the Norwegian prime minister that he no longer needed to think “purely of peace.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Acquiring the semiautonomous Danish territory would further elevate his claims to greatness and the status of legend in his own contorted reality.

From Salon • Jan. 13, 2026

Licenses granted before the moratorium have opened up the possibility of a new revenue source that could help Greenland become financially independent from Denmark, which currently subsidizes the semiautonomous territory.

From Barron's • Jan. 7, 2026

The centrioles and basal bodies are believed in some quarters to be semiautonomous organisms with their own separate genomes.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas