self-determination.

1. The ability or right to direct one’s own choices and conduct without overriding external control.

2. The right or ability of a people to determine its political status and pursue its collective development.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• personal self-determination
• support for self-determination

On the page

Support for self-determination included accessible information and a meaningful opportunity to refuse.

Personal self-determination did not remove the need to coordinate decisions affecting others.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / character / human behavior. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: characterization, motivation analysis, behavioral comparison, qualification. Disciplines: psychology, social behavior, character writing. Commonness: moderately common.