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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Recent Examples of self-governing
The final package fell far short of what President Lai Ching-te insisted was necessary to prepare the self-governing island for a potential Chinese attack.
—
Scott Tong, NPR, 11 June 2026
China claims the self-governing island as its territory and sanctioned four New Zealand lawmakers on Thursday to protest their recent visit.
—ABC News, 4 June 2026
Taiwan’s Beijing-friendly opposition leader headed to the US for meetings with lawmakers at a time when Washington’s commitment to the self-governing island has been cast in doubt.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 1 June 2026
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
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
Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory, is under growing pressure from China, which has not ruled out using force to seize control.
—Dan De Luce, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2023
Scott Tong, NPR, 11 June 2026
China claims the self-governing island as its territory and sanctioned four New Zealand lawmakers on Thursday to protest their recent visit.
—ABC News, 4 June 2026
Taiwan’s Beijing-friendly opposition leader headed to the US for meetings with lawmakers at a time when Washington’s commitment to the self-governing island has been cast in doubt.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 1 June 2026
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
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
Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory, is under growing pressure from China, which has not ruled out using force to seize control.
—Dan De Luce, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-governing
Adjective
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Production was structured along radically independent lines.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
15 June 2026
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Aside from best film, Sivaci won best director while Erdener shared best actress prize with Italian actress Greta Scarano for her performance in social romcom Piccolo Miracolo, as a fiercely independent blind woman who finds love in an unaccepted place.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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The court’s assumption of its supervisory role in the democratic process was the product of the civil-rights era.—
Noah Feldman,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
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His initiatives to combat child malnutrition, improve public transportation and public services solidified his social democratic credentials.—
Kaya Genç,
The Dial,
9 June 2026
Adjective
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As geopolitical competition intensifies and adversaries rapidly scale autonomous systems of their own, autonomy increasingly becomes a national security imperative.—
Tim Burns,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
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Such a drone boat is supposedly capable of continuous, autonomous loiter operations in which the Corsair maintains its position while autonomously regulating power consumption and only engaging its engine when needed, according to a Saronic blog post.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
Adjective
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On the last earnings call, CEO Jitendra Mohan stressed that hyperscalers, AI labels and sovereign entities are all signaling the buildout is still in the early innings, underpinned by real monetization, and return on investment — not on speculative demand.—
Todd Gordon,
CNBC,
9 June 2026
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The promise of sovereign AI is that a country can keep its models, data, and compute power at home.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-governing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-governing. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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