self-sufficient
"self-sufficient" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“self-sufficient” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Able to provide for oneself independently of others; not needing external support.
Corpus desk
Index EN-self-sufficient · self-sufficient · English
self-sufficient · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 15 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | self-sufficient |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “self-sufficient” in English
Rare enough to double-check
self-sufficient is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for self-sufficient in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From self- + sufficient, a calque of Ancient Greek αὐτάρκης (autárkēs). The correct English form is self-sufficient, spelled S-E-L-F---S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1Able to provide for oneself independently of others; not needing external support.
- 2Overconfident in one's own abilities; arrogant.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how self-sufficient appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Over the next few decades, several million humans immigrated to Eden Prime and a primarily agrarian culture developed. The new colony quickly became not only self-sufficient, but began exporting goods.
In spite of these conscientious reflections, he was too self-sufficient to think he should find any difficulty in obtaining forgiveness for these sins of omission […].
Etymology
From self- + sufficient, a calque of Ancient Greek αὐτάρκης (autárkēs).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.