1
as in choice
the act or power of making one's own choices or decisions
the United States officially recognizes 18 as the age at which someone is entitled to self-determination
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in autonomy
the state of being free from the control or power of another
rebels fighting for the territory's self-determination
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-determination
The five territories are among 17 regions across the world the United Nations says should be granted self-determination or independence.
—
Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 14 Mar. 2026
But the broader issue is self-determination.
—Tiffany Caban, New York Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026
There needs to be self-determination and there needs to be a pluralistic government that includes a lot of different kinds of Iranians.
—ABC News, 8 Mar. 2026
Led by officers weary of Portugal’s colonial wars, which had begun in the early 1960s, the revolution favored negotiating autonomy with Portuguese colonies and affirmed their right to self-determination.
—Agathe Demarolle, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for self-determination
Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 14 Mar. 2026
But the broader issue is self-determination.
—Tiffany Caban, New York Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026
There needs to be self-determination and there needs to be a pluralistic government that includes a lot of different kinds of Iranians.
—ABC News, 8 Mar. 2026
Led by officers weary of Portugal’s colonial wars, which had begun in the early 1960s, the revolution favored negotiating autonomy with Portuguese colonies and affirmed their right to self-determination.
—Agathe Demarolle, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for self-determination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-determination
Noun
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The curatorial choices are less about building an experience around some grand concept or documenting an important moment in art history, and more about showing off what is in the storeroom, or in this case, the closets.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
6 Apr. 2026
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Ground your choices in self-respect.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
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However, this private autonomy technically leaves SpaceX’s services available to the highest bidder — which one day could include clients whose objectives conflict with America’s own.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Apr. 2026
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Less than a year after the end of Hulu’s Emmy-winning adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s sequel novel, The Testaments, has been reimagined into another eerily timely TV series — this time centered around young women fighting for their own autonomy.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The United States has experience in encouraging economic transitions through regulatory modernization and private-sector development frameworks, and that expertise can be shared in ways that respect national sovereignty.—
Oscar de la Rosa,
Boston Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
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The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage.—
Larry Holder,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Since then, al-Sharaa, a former leader of al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, has improved relations with Western countries and last year became the first Syrian head of state to visit Washington since Syria’s independence in 1946.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Athletes have largely won the freedom to transfer almost at will via the portal along with the ability to be paid by schools that are now doling out more than $20 million a year to their athletes.—
Mark Long,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
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Drawing inspiration from the human hand’s intricate design and proprioceptive capabilities, this study aims to enhance the dexterity of robotic hands, particularly in multi-degree-of-freedom (DoF) motion and posture perception.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-determination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-determination. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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