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 China claims the democratic self-governing island as its own, and Xi has not ruled out using force to take it. — David Rising, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for self-governing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-governing
  1. independent
  2. democratic
  3. autonomous
  4. sovereign
Adjective
  • At the end of September, leaders of several of the biggest AI companies went to the White House and signed an accord committing to internal risk controls, independent audits and board-level oversight of safety.
    — Giorgos Tsetis, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • However, the ministry’s statement does not provide independent verification of the results or disclose additional technical details about the missiles’ performance.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of independent
Adjective
  • The findings come three decades after the democratic government introduced a raft of measures — known as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) — aimed at reversing the dispossession suffered by Black people under apartheid and colonialism.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • For decades, the United States favored an international order that forbade wars of conquest, upheld freedom of the seas, maintained a generally open global economy, and allowed populations to exercise democratic rights, even if autocracies remained.
    — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of democratic
Adjective
  • Instead, the test showed how a human could direct a semi-autonomous platform while its software handled the details of executing instructions.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Holland was ousted in 2020, when Sarandos combined English-language and international content under Bajaria (elevating the latter to the largest autonomous content job in the streamer’s history).
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of autonomous
Adjective
  • About 90% of the investor base of the company, including Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire and father of Skydance CEO David Ellison, as well as RedBird Capital, Middle East sovereign wealth funds and other backers, did not receive the warrants.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund isn’t slowing its dealmaking, a senior executive said, even as the Iran war gutted the state’s revenue by 42% in the first half of the year.
    — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of sovereign

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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 20 Oct. 2026.

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