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• independence
  independence

  noun

  Also the state or quality of being independent.
• Independence
  Independence

  noun

  a city in W Missouri: starting point of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.

independence

¹ American  

[in-di-pen-duhns] / ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dəns /

noun

• independence
  plural

1. Also the state or quality of being independent.

2. freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others.

3. Archaic. a competency.

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Independence ² American  

[in-di-pen-duhns] / ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dəns /

noun

1. a city in W Missouri: starting point of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.

2. a town in SE Kansas.

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Independence ¹ British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns /

noun

1. a city in W Missouri, near Kansas City: starting point for the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails (1831–44). Pop: 112 079 (2003 est)

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independence ² British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns /

noun

1. Also called: independency. the state or quality of being independent

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Independence Cultural  

1. City in western Missouri.

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Synonym Usage

See freedom.

Discover More

Beginning of the Santa Fe Trail, used by settlers moving west.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interindependence
  noun
• preindependence
  noun
• superindependence
  noun
• postindependence
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• independence
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of independence

First recorded in 1630–40; independ(ent) + -ence

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Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

independence Independence

Gluesenkamp Perez’s independence has also earned her critics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

For Berardi, independence no longer means having a car waiting outside.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

The UN experts included the special rapporteurs on the right to freedom of opinion; on the independence of judges; on freedom of peaceful assembly; and on human rights defenders.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

He said that while the result was within his expectations, he felt that awareness of the independence movement and its grievances had been raised.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The Cognitive Revolution is accordingly the point when history declared its independence from biology.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Over the years, the magazine has ranked everything from Super Bowl halftime shows and horrible wedding songs to pre-YouTube viral hits and Declaration of Independence signatures.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

The game meat is expected to be served as part of the traditional feasting associated with the Independence Day celebrations.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

But as Trump showed Xi around the National Archives in Washington -- home to the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution -- it underscored that the summit was more about spectacle than substance.

From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026

That was the day Guilfoyle held an American Independence Day celebration in Athens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

The two-lane highway from Independence to the camp is quiet except for the small caravan of buses heading into the desert.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

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Related Words

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• separation
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