Also the state or quality of being independent.
freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others.
Archaic. a competency.
a city in W Missouri: starting point of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.
a town in SE Kansas.
See freedom.
Beginning of the Santa Fe Trail, used by settlers moving west.
First recorded in 1630–40; independ(ent) + -ence
Independence is the state of being free of the control of some other person, country or entity. Revolutions are all about obtaining independence, most famously perhaps the Revolutionary War in America, which led to America's freedom from Britain. Independence comes from a nice medieval French word, depenre, meaning "to hang from," or "to hang down." The in at the beginning is Latin for "not," so the word originally meant "not hanging from," which is a neat description of what countries achieve by throwing off their colonizers. Teenagers also commonly seek independence from their parents — but perhaps not financial independence.
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The two presidents—Jefferson defeated Adams in 1800—and drafters of the Declaration of Independence died on the same day, 50 years after that document’s adoption.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
What a triumph for the cause of human freedom promised in the Declaration of Independence.
From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026
Going forward, it was hoped that Southern governments would truly rest on the consent of the governed, as the Declaration of Independence had promised.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026
Poison frontman Michaels was scheduled on 3 July, the eve of Independence Day.
From BBC • May 31, 2026
It had an important-sounding name: the Declaration of Independence.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
