SELF-DIRECTED Synonyms: 107 Similar and Opposite Words

self-directed

adjective

Definition of self-directed

as in self-indulgent

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

as in independent

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of self-directed But that change needs to be self-directed, coming from within each individual. — Goth Shakira contributing, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026 While other Coachella performers like Katseye and Lucky Brand collaborator Addison Rae have each carved out distinct aesthetic identities, festivalgoers are drawing less direct inspiration from performers’ styles, instead embracing a more individual and self-directed approach to dressing. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 3 Apr. 2026 Life feels self-directed rather than dictated by external pressure or comparison. — Larae Quy, Forbes.com, 25 Feb. 2026 Trade The Pool aims to help people become more financially capable and self-directed. — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 5 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for self-directed

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-directed

Adjective

Not so much of the self-indulgent stuff that gave the genre a bad name.

— Liza Lentini, SPIN, 9 Oct. 2026
This is the man who made the two-and-a-half-hour, stream-of-consciousness passion project Bardo (2022), after all, which several critics also found rather abrasive and self-indulgent.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of self-indulgent

Adjective

The maintenance requests have kept engine repair and overhaul facilities backed up, from those owned by manufacturing giants GE Aerospace and RTX unit Pratt & Whitney to smaller, independent ones.

— Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
To pinpoint the exact moment of this turnaround, Young’s team used two independent dating methods.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of independent

Adjective

Played by Jesse Eisenberg, Zuckerberg is dramatized as a conceited, socially awkward college student who repeatedly burns allies in pursuit of power.

— Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile, Johnson reprises his role as Moana's bantering reluctant partner, the shapeshifting trickster demigod Maui, alongside Jemaine Clement again voicing the conceited giant crustacean Tamatoa.

— Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 July 2026

Definition of conceited

Adjective

The framework could work, Kuno suggests, if the aim is to create a network that links members’ strengths while staying plugged into global supply chains instead of building a self-sufficient bloc.

— Sam Beltran, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2026
Drawers built into the table hold extra silverware — a thoughtful way to keep your party self-sufficient and in the moment.

— Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of self-sufficient

Adjective

Claire’s elective death therefore remains a problematic choice for some viewers, an act of vainglorious selfishness from a woman who was never terribly nice to begin with.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026
Melodramatic and vainglorious, moody and capricious, a fidgety, neurotic hypochondriac, Stalin was a bundle of appalling contradictions.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Feb. 2026

Definition of vainglorious

Adjective

New materials, colors and finishes, including a California-specific fabric and color scheme, further distinguish the camper van's interior look and feel from the rest of the Volkswagen van lineup.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026
Georgiev-Remmel told the court there was no specific date set to carry out any removals.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of specific

Adjective

The same tools that help spot threats faster may also be creating new risks, and recent high-profile hacks underscore the fact that companies can’t be complacent.

— HBR Editors, Harvard Business Review, 30 Oct. 2026
And, like all such acts of mass enshittification, it was made possible by the fact that the system it was meant to supplant had grown complacent.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of complacent

Adjective

These species, along with teal and shovelers, often get categorized by self-important duck hunters as scrap ducks or bonus ducks.

— Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 9 Sep. 2026
Public officials attend each year to bear witness and show their respects, not deliver self-important speeches.

— Ken Frydman, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026