self-governed

[ self-guhv-ernd, self- ]

/ ˌsɛlfˈgʌv ərnd, ˈsɛlf- /

governed by itself or having self-government, as a state or community; independent.

self-regulating; self-determining.

exercising self-restraint or self-control.

Origin of self-governed

First recorded in 1700–10

1 autonomous.

1 dependent.

self-gov·ern·ing, adjective non·self-gov·ern·ing, adjective

But as a self-governing commonwealth, the Marianas were exempt from U.S. labor standards and even immigration laws.

David’s Book Club: ‘Capitol Punishment’ |David Frum |March 23, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
To talk of a self-governing church, is just as absurd as to talk of a self-governing ship, or a self-governing family.

Paris and the Parisians in 1835 (Vol. 1 of 2) |Frances Milton Trollope
Most of the British self-governing colonies are to-day great States, well able to defend themselves from overseas attack.

The Crime Against Europe |Roger Casement
No culture, no art seems so noble as this far-off spectacle of a self-governing people.

Malbone |Thomas Wentworth Higginson

He has made us thus elastic and self-governing that we may not be cast down.

Joy in Service; Forgetting, and Pressing Onward; Until the Day Dawn |George Tybout Purves
You are morally autonomous; exercise your power; be a free, self-governing citizen.

Outlines of Educational Doctrine |John Frederick Herbart