as in autodidactic
having skills or knowledge acquired through one's own efforts without formal training
the cellist's success is all the more remarkable because she is self-taught
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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-taught
Other artists are lesser known, such as Eunice Pinney, an early 19th-century folk watercolorist who was entirely self-taught, as well as Bernarda Bryson, a printmaker who depicted farmers in New Deal-era art and only gained recognition later in her life.
—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
13 Apr. 2026
David MacMartin, a Westview science teacher who taught her honors and Advanced Placement biology, said most of Fan’s skills with the work were self-taught.
—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Feb. 2026
Where Obama is a product of Ivy League schools, Lincoln was largely self-taught.
—
Jim Williams,
CBS News,
21 Feb. 2026
Born in 1970 in Herber City, Utah, Allen is largely self-taught, having begun his artistic career by whittling figures and selling them from atop an ironing board on the streets of SoHo in New York.
—
News Desk,
Artforum,
24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-taught
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
13 Apr. 2026
David MacMartin, a Westview science teacher who taught her honors and Advanced Placement biology, said most of Fan’s skills with the work were self-taught.
—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Feb. 2026
Where Obama is a product of Ivy League schools, Lincoln was largely self-taught.
—
Jim Williams,
CBS News,
21 Feb. 2026
Born in 1970 in Herber City, Utah, Allen is largely self-taught, having begun his artistic career by whittling figures and selling them from atop an ironing board on the streets of SoHo in New York.
—
News Desk,
Artforum,
24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-taught
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-taught
Adjective
-
His autodidactic impulses may lead him to the history of clock towers or to the interplanetary rarity of wood.
Adjective
-
The events give youth amateur boxers from the city's 22 boxing gyms a chance to show their skills in a competitive atmosphere.
-
And injecting college baseball with top high school talent likely would lead to greater attention for the amateur draft and the game overall.
Cite this Entry
“Self-taught.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-taught. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
