1
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
2
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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Recent Examples of self-ruling
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-ruling
Adjective
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The last quarter of the eighteenth century was a pre-democratic era, and all efforts to read a Jacksonian or Tocquevillian faith in the wisdom of the common man into the American founding are misleading distortions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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Two of Africa’s longest-serving leaders secured extensions to their rule, cementing signs of democratic erosion on the continent.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The McClatchy Commerce Content team, which is independent from our newsroom, oversees this content.—
Calesa Township,
Miami Herald,
28 Oct. 2025
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Then, as president, Joe Biden twice said that the people of Taiwan should decide whether to be independent.—
STEPHEN WERTHEIM,
Foreign Affairs,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The push for fully autonomous systems, agents that plan, reason, and act without human oversight, has created an automation theater where demos impress, but production systems disappoint.—
Joel Hron,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
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Larger mushroom systems could find applications in edge computing and aerospace exploration, while smaller iterations might enhance autonomous systems and wearable devices.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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So, in the UAE, we're partnered with Abu Dhabi, and there's two funds that have invested Mubadala, which is one of the sovereign wealth funds and IHC, another one of the sovereign wealth funds.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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More recently, the firm advised the government on many of its international bond sales and helped finance the sovereign wealth fund’s $55 billion purchase of Electronic Arts.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In May 2016, police collected DNA evidence from Clay after he was arrested on separate theft charges.—
Kelsey Lentz,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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Radiolarians were visible throughout the book, which was published as separate volumes between 1899 and 1904 and finally as a complete edition in 1904 with one hundred full-page lithographs.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-ruling. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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