self-direction

noun

The condition of being self-directed.

Similar
autonomyself-relianceself-sufficiency
OriginEnglish direction ← Middle English self- ← Old English self- →
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Meanings

nounself-direction (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe condition of being self-directed.

    The terms “autonomy” and “self-direction” are being used more and more frequently in educational discussion.

    1995 May 28, Marie-José Gremmo, Philip Riley, “Autonomy, self-direction and self access in language teaching and learning: The history of an idea”, in System, volume 23, number 2, →DOI, page 151

Synonyms & antonyms

nounpersonal independence

Similar
autonomyself-relianceself-sufficiency
Broader
independenceindependency
Also see
autonomyself-relianceself-sufficiency

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*selbaz
  4. Old Englishself
  5. Old Englishself-
  6. Middle Englishself-
  7. Englishself-
  8. Englishdirection
  9. Englishself-direction

From self- + direction.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

self-direction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-direction

MLA

“self-direction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-direction. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-direction,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-direction.

Source: self-direction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.