SELF-DIRECTED Synonyms: 107 Similar and Opposite Words

self-directed

adjective

Definition of self-directed

as in self-indulgent

Related Words

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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

Retailers globally have quickly adopted the trend, which allows consumers to feel smarter in their shopping - being both self-indulgent and financially responsible at exactly the same time.

— Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
And at what point does self-promotion become self-indulgent?

— Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 8 May 2026

Definition of self-indulgent

Adjective

In early 2021, after a few years as an independent hotel, the Monarch Beach Resort joined the Waldorf Astoria Collection, the luxury brand from Hilton Hotels.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026
That means projects that are independent as a feature, not a bug.

— Matt Donnelly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of independent

Adjective

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
Avoid Burying Praise in Negatives To avoid making children too conceited, parents might bury praise in the midst of negatives.

— Wayne Parker, Parents, 8 Mar. 2026

Definition of conceited

Adjective

Smokejumpers undergo intense training and physical conditioning to work as self-sufficient crews for days or even weeks on fires not easily reachable by road.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2026
Here are a few more tips from our experts on raising a self-sufficient child in the face of the snowplow parenting trend.

— Cheryl Maguire, Parents, 1 Sep. 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

Although the director’s overuse of foot-stomp transitions can feel a bit self-important — experimental for experimental’s sake — this is interesting theater of ideas.

— Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026
It’s dominated by a less than transparent booster, Eli James (Michael Hough), who comes with a self-important wife, Jemma (Mary Holland), and a pair of teenage twin girls who might be described as all dressed up with nowhere to go.

— Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026