Self-exile
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A voluntary exile; One who chooses to leave their homeland or community. countable
"One source for the views of certain of these self-exiles is the newsletter of the Union of American Exiles, American Exile in Canada, published in Toronto for at least two years (1968 and 1969)."
- 2 The state of voluntary exile; The condition of choosing to leave one's homeland or community. uncountable
"Self-exile to a convent residence was the traditionally dignified solution for an injured wife of her class."
- 3 Isolation from the world; A retreat from involvement with one's environment. uncountable
"Chang's self-exile, however, aroused rather than thwarted her readers' desire; and they consumed anecdotes and hearsay about her life as eagerly as they did any of her works."
- 4 A separation or alienation from ones inner self. uncountable
"The autobiographical gesture, writing the word “I,” is a move into self-exile or even self-extinction."
- 1 To go into self-exile.
"The agreement provided that Aguinaldo and his officers and men would self-exile abroad; Primo de Rivera will pay the rebels ₱800,000.00 in three installments until all the rebel soldiers would have surrendered; amnesty would be given to all those who would surrender; and an additional ₱900,000.00 would be paid by the Spanish government to the Filipino civilians and their families who were affected by the conflict."
Example
More examples"One source for the views of certain of these self-exiles is the newsletter of the Union of American Exiles, American Exile in Canada, published in Toronto for at least two years (1968 and 1969)."
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.