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Glite Dictionary
self-evident truth

self-evident truth

1 5.7
A clear fact that needs no proof or explanation
  • noun
  • /sɛlfˈɛvɪdənt truθ/
translation icon : verdad autoevidente
  • Natural Right and History opens with a solemn invocation of the Declaration of Independence's assertion of self-evident truths and unalienable rights.
  • self-evident truth that all men

And then it got a consensus and then it became the truth and then it became the self-evident truth.

Examples

  • The project's mission is to reveal the self-evident truth about abortion.

    Blog text (12)

  • We were established as a nation of individuals who rely on certain "self-evident truths" to guide how we conduct our official business.

    Academic text (2009)

  • What does it mean to say that the equality of persons is a self-evident truth?

    Academic text (1993)

  • Such claims pass for self-evident truth among those who are already thus predisposed.

    Academic text (2003)

  • A somewhat more satisfactory response might be that the champions of these principles treat them as self-evident truths.

    Academic text (2002)

  • A further problem turns on the fact that, while the intrinsic value of freedom comes close to being a self-evident truth for us in the West, it seems not to be self-evident to all human beings.

    Academic text (2002)

  • All I can do here is lay the claim that there is a limited but crucial set of self-evident truths that speak to us in an unmistakable voice and provide a foundation for universal moral claims.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Jaffa affirms Lincoln's sweeping claim that the self-evident truth that all men are created equal is "the father of all moral principles" in the hearts of Americans.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Americans in particular may want to side with Dewey here, since the Declaration of Independence puts at the foundation of any legitimate government "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," which are taken to be "self-evident" truths articulated by reason and not simply a matter of will.

    Academic text (1998)

  • It is a self-evident truth that everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

Synonyms

truism
vsself-evident truth
11 5.7

A very obvious true statement that is not worth saying

is accepted as an obvious principle that needs no proof or explanation
apodictic proposition
vsself-evident truth
  • Formal
9.9

A statement that must be true, for example a basic math rule

is seen as obviously true by intuition rather than proved by logic

Antonyms

controversial
423 5.0

Likely to cause strong public disagreement

disputed
4.1

Not accepted as true by some people

How Obvious

self-evident truth
1 5.7
axiom
30 7.5
truism
11 5.7
statement
  • Formal
∞ 1.3
claim
818 3.3
opinion
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

self-evident truth singular
self-evident truths plural

Morphology

self-evident + truth

The phrase's meaning ('a statement so obvious it needs no proof') is directly and transparently derived from its constituents: 'self-evident' (easily understood without proof) modifying 'truth' (conformity to fact). This compositional pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Self-evident truth gives the image of a fact that proves itself, like water running downhill that you can see for yourself. So it means an idea so clear and obvious that it 'needs no proof'.