SELF-RULING Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

self-ruling

adjective

ˌself-ˈrü-liŋ

Definition of self-ruling

as in democratic

of, relating to, or favoring political democracy having rid itself of the yoke of colonialism, the new nation chose to be a self-ruling state

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in independent

not being under the rule or control of another was granted special status as a self-ruling province

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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-ruling But the real change might be in East Asia, where Kim’s belligerence and rising fears regarding China’s designs on self-ruling Taiwan had already reenergized the nuclear debate. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Mar. 2026 Like Assad before him, Sharaa now faces complex negotiations toward bringing these self-ruling territories under his command. — Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025 In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan – a self-ruling democracy the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own despite having never governed it. — Eric Cheung, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023 In a meeting earlier with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and claim to self-ruling democratic Taiwan. — Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for self-ruling

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-ruling

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

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

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

Adjective

Corniel’s new settlement does not resolve separate wrongful death claims brought on behalf of Drakeo’s young son, Caiden Caldwell, by the child’s guardian.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2026
Matt Schnaars, president of platform distribution and partnerships for NBCUniversal, reinforced Shapiro’s observations in a separate session.

— Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of separate

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self-rule

self-ruling

self-sacrifice

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“Self-ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-ruling. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of self-ruling

adjective

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