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self-evident

self-evident

25 4.8
Clear and obvious without needing proof
  • adjective
  • /ˌsɛlfˈɛvɪdənt/
translation icon : evidente
  • Consequences are usually self-evident, involving the results of actions taken in any given situation.
  • self-evident truth
  • becomes self-evident

You know, it's like some things are kind of self-evident.

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Examples

  • The answer to the riddle was self-evident once you thought about it.

  • We hold certain truths to be self-evident, that while all men are created equal, all cheeses are indeed not created equal.

  • Ladies and gentlemen, maybe it's a simple thing, maybe it's a self-evident thing, but consider:

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Many of the solutions to these issues of engagement are self-evident, but here are some points you may wish to consider.

    Academic text (2012)
  • There were a number of themes like that that were self-evident in their importance.

  • We hold these truths to be self-evident .

  • We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

  • In our day certain economic truths have become accepted as self-evident.

  • For my guests, it was self-evident that Alaska is part and parcel of the United States.

    Academic text (1991)
  • These sacred truths are self-evident.

Synonyms

obvious
vsself-evident
1.0

Easy to see or understand

is clear without needing explanation or formal justification from others
evident
vsself-evident
203 2.1

Easy to see or understand

is clear without requiring further proof or detailed explanation
undeniable
vsself-evident
56 4.2

So clear that people cannot doubt it

is clear without depending on proof that eliminates every doubt
unequivocal
vsself-evident
  • Formal
24 6.7

Completely clear and leaving no doubt

is clear for most uses rather than only lacking ambiguity
indisputable
vsself-evident
22 5.7

You cannot doubt it because it is clearly true

is clear without needing external proof or formal argument
irrefutable
vsself-evident
22 7.8

Impossible to deny or prove wrong

is clear without requiring formal disproof or scientific testing
axiomatic
vsself-evident
5 8.3

Clearly true and accepted without proof

is clear and obvious without technical justification or formal proof
incontestable
vsself-evident
  • Formal
2 7.5

People cannot doubt it because it is clearly true

is clear in meaning without needing formal proof from others
apodictic
vsself-evident
  • Formal
9.9

Clearly true and impossible to doubt

is clear without requiring formal logical necessity or strict proof

Antonyms

207 3.9

Not easy to understand or know for sure

68 6.3

Not clear because it can have more than one meaning

How Clear

self-evident
25 4.8
obvious
1.0
clear
1.0
apparent
91 3.6

Surface Forms

self-evident positive

Morphology

self-evident = self + evident (transparent) = self + evident

Meaning is directly derivable from 'self' + 'evident' = obvious by itself, following normal English compounding logic.

Etymology

Self-evident breaks into self- meaning 'by itself' and evident, which is like evidence and means 'clear'. So something self-evident is 'clear by itself' and needs no proof.