Meanings
comparative more self-regulating · superlative most self-regulating
- Able to control itself.
The motor was self-regulating, until the governor broke and it suddenly raced out of control.
- Of an organization, establishing standards for itself rather than having them legislated for it by government.
Lawyers are self-regulating through the bar association, which sets standards and imposes penalties.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivedesigned to activate or move or regulate itself
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*swé?
- Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
- Proto-Germanic*selbaz
- Old Englishself
- Old Englishself-
- Middle Englishself-
- Englishself-
- Englishregulating
- Englishself-regulating
From self- + regulating.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
self-regulating. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-regulating
“self-regulating.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-regulating. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-regulating,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-regulating.
Source: self-regulating on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.