self-evident
adjEtymology From self- + evident.
1
Obviously true, and requiring no proof, argument or explanation, axiomatic.
- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.1776, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America:
- Who were these people who took refuge behind a few honoured but misguided names? What right had they to expect serious men of science to suspend their labours in order to waste time in examining their wild surmises? Some things were self-evident and did not require proof.1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
3 more examples
- Can we then find axioms as self-evident as those of Arithmetic, on which we can build as on a sure foundation, which could be shaken only by a scepticism which should attack the whole fabric of our knowledge?1999, Bertrand Russell, Charles R. Pigden, Russell on Ethics:
- I guess I'm supposed to figure these things out Or maybe it's supposed to be self-evident2000, “Family Happiness”, in The Coroner's Gambit, performed by Mountain Goats:
- Although the starting point of this article was the '70 years before all stations are made accessible' headline, it is self-evident that many of the requirements for disabled people will also make the railway a more welcoming place for families and the elderly.2023 August 23, Anthony Lambert, “Expanding the family and disabled markets”, in RAIL, number 990, page 53:
- Derived terms
- self-evidently
- Related terms
- self-evidence