self-elect
self-elect verb: to self-select; to choose for oneself, rather than having another choose for one.
Verb
self-elect (third-person singular simple present self-elects, present participle self-electing, simple past and past participle self-elected)
- To self-select; to choose for oneself, rather than having another choose for one.
- In the fundamental part he therefore argues: “Truly good works are not self-elected works of monastic or any other holiness, but such only as God has commanded, and as are comprehended within the bounds of one's particular calling, and all works.1520, Martin Luther, A Treatise on Good Works Together With the Letter of Dedication
- GATT Contracting Parties have self-elected their designation, most recently when the WTO was created.2001, The Development Dimensions of Trade, page 13
- To self-appoint; to volunteer; to take on a role one has chosen for oneself.
- Which of ye will venture upon me? —Will you, Mr. Constable self-elect? or you, sir, with a pimple on your nose, got at Oxford by hard drinking, your only badge of loyalty?1802, Charles Lamb, John Woodvil, A Tragedy
- Over the past five years they have created a model of a school community council where students can 'self-elect' to be a part of a supportive framework of student-led teams.2010, Robb, Martin, Thomson, Rachel, Critical practice with children and young people
Adjective
self-elect (not comparable)
- Chosen by oneself; self-appointed.
- The House of Keys, being self-elect, in these days of popular election by the people, is not a very popular institution.1864 April 2, “Colonial Tribunals & Jurisprudence”, in The Solicitors' Journal & Reporter, volume 8, page 428
- As there would be no necessity for civil governments, if every individual was self-governed ; so in the Kingdom of GRACE, there would be no need for societies external to the churches, certainly not for close corporations, self-elect and self-electing, for the execution of the Commission.1871, James Locke Batchelder, Societyism and Its Evils, page 30
Noun
self-elect (countable and uncountable, plural self-elects)
- The self-appointed elite.
- Meantime the minister ascended the pulpit-stair, with all the solemnity of one of the self-elect, and a priest besides.1863, George MacDonald, David Elginbrod, page 98
- Moreover, the self-elect seem as illiterate as they are tyrannical, and can hardly spell their own names.1882, Mrs. Maria Wilkin, The Shackles of an Old Love, page 221
- A volunteer.
- Most of the volunteers had departed for the winter, leaving behind three hundred self-elects.1971, Richard Sale, For the president's eyes only, page 4
Examples of self-elect in a sentence
- Rather than a kind of lawlessness, these chatrooms occasion the opportunity for each community to write and enforce its own rules about online conduct and self-elect its enforcers.2003, Juana María Rodríguez, Queer Latinidad: Identity Practices, Discursive Spaces, page 133:
- In response, the CCPA began to “self-elect” bishops at the instigation of the government.2011, Peter C. Phan, Christianities in Asia, page 154:
Forms of self-elect
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | self-elects |
| present participle | self-electing |
| past participle | self-elected |
| past | self-elected |
| Noun | |
| plural | self-elects |
Origin of self-elect
From self- + elect.
Questions about self-elect
- What does self-elect mean?
- Self-elect means to self-select; to choose for oneself, rather than having another choose for one.
- How do you use self-elect in a sentence?
- Rather than a kind of lawlessness, these chatrooms occasion the opportunity for each community to write and enforce its own rules about online conduct and self-elect its enforcers.
- What part of speech is self-elect?
- Self-elect can be a verb, an adjective or a noun.
- What is the past tense of self-elect?
- The past tense of self-elect is self-elected.
Words near self-elect in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: self-elect (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “self-elect.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/self-elect. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.