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self-governing

adjective

ˌself-ˈgə-vər-niŋ How to pronounce self-governing (audio)
Definition of self-governingnext
1
as in independent
not being under the rule or control of another she left home and became entirely self-governing and financially independent at the age of 18

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2
as in democratic
of, relating to, or favoring political democracy a self-governing nation that could be a role model for other countries in the region

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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-governing These comments came after recent talks between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about American support for the self-governing island. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026 When those three things come together, patient safety stops being a values statement and becomes a self-governing system. — Joe Kiani, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026 The collection of 18 islands between Scotland and Iceland is a self-governing region of Denmark, and the 54,000 people who live there have their own language, parliament, and culture distinct from the Danes. — Callie Radke Stevens, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2025 Administration officials heralded the law as liberation from the constant vulnerability of relying on chip-makers in Taiwan, a self-governing island only 100 miles off the Chinese coast that is claimed by Beijing. — Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2023 See All Example Sentences for self-governing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-governing
  1. independent
  2. democratic
  3. autonomous
  4. sovereign
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
  • Traditional Republicans who have supported, or at least gone along with, the party’s attacks on Muslims and immigrants and its rejection of democratic norms have spoken out against cracking the door open for anti-Semites.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2026
  • In the Democratic primary, the anti-establishment trend was evident in the rise of democratic socialist Karishma Manzur, a 52-year-old research scientist who holds a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of democratic
Adjective
  • The July hack by rogue OpenAI autonomous agents on open-source developer platform Hugging Face accelerated the shift and proved that the era of advanced AI hacks had arrived.
    — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026
  • That was the year LumineticsCore received the first FDA de novo clearance for an autonomous medical diagnosis — diabetic retinopathy — and began carrying malpractice insurance for its no-clinician-in-the-loop system.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of autonomous
Adjective
  • Everyone felt the sickening harsh reality that this had happened on our sovereign soil and that it was meant to be an affront to everyone who felt pride in being an American.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The Gulf’s largest sovereign wealth fund is making a bigger push into alternative assets and private markets, targeting tens of billions of additional dollars into buyouts and hedge funds.
    — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of sovereign

Browse Nearby Words

self-governed
self-governing
self-government
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Cite this Entry

“Self-governing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-governing. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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