self-sufficient

adjective

self-suf·​fi·​cient ˌself-sə-ˈfi-shənt 

1

: able to maintain oneself or itself without outside aid : capable of providing for one's own needs

a self-sufficient farm

2

: having an extreme confidence in one's own ability or worth : haughty, overbearing

Synonyms

• independent
• self-dependent
• self-reliant
• self-subsistent
• self-subsisting
• self-supported
• self-supporting
• self-sustained
• self-sustaining

Examples of self-sufficient in a Sentence

the college student worked nights so that he would be self-sufficient

Recent Examples on the Web

This is fine with us, as my son is an experienced traveler and is a quiet, self-sufficient and polite passenger. —Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 13 May 2024

Just a few miles north of Kansas City, Smithville was tidy, self-sufficient, but not appreciably different from hundreds of small towns across the country. —Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2024

Manchin has been a vocal advocate of the U.S. distancing itself from Chinese industrial inputs and becoming self-sufficient in the auto industry. —Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 6 May 2024

In 1985, Rat was recruited by Black Flag to provide full sound on the road, as part of a crew to enable the band to be self-sufficient on tour. —Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024

The Ducks are entirely self-sufficient, a notable exception in the highly subsidized Pac-12, where the average amount of university support for athletics was $13.7 million last year. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024

Biden also vowed to continue efforts to deny China advanced technology like computer chips, which has spurred Xi to invest in becoming more self-sufficient. —TIME, 18 Apr. 2024

Most of his patients were white, geriatric and still largely self-sufficient — members of the same demographic as the country’s two leading presidential candidates in the 2024 election, 81-year-old Joe Biden and 77-year-old Donald Trump. —Eli Saslow Erin Schaff Eli Saslow, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024

Huawei has been hit hard by U.S. restrictions on semiconductor exports to China and is at the vanguard of Chinese efforts to become self-sufficient and a leader in technology. —Fatima Hussein, Fortune Asia, 5 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

self-sufficient

adjective

self-suf·​fi·​cient

ˌself-sə-ˈfish-ənt

: able to take care of oneself without outside help : independent