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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

Etymology

Origin of independence

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

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

But Alexander Hamilton, among others, recognized that a national bank, in harnessing private wealth to create public credit, was as vital to independence as a military victory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

It was the latest visit in a tour of Italy's coastline organised by the ambassador to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US declaration of independence.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

He even negotiated a proposed truce with Britain’s Gen. William Howe, which granted Americans almost everything they could ask for except their independence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India's independence movement, took that ancient language and transformed it into modern politics.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

During the first two decades after the war for independence from Britain, large numbers of first- and second-generation Ulster Scots moved westward into the Ohio Valley, western Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Garcia is American with Mexican heritage and the fight will take place on the weekend before Mexican Independence Day.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

I had my AirPods in, and my gingham shirt and bandana signaled I was ready to celebrate Independence Day.

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

He has in the past quit two other parties he created, the UK Independence Party and Reform.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

July 4 fell during a record-breaking heat wave that upended the parades, block parties and barbecues that traditionally mark Independence Day.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

I hold on to Ruth May while he and the rest of Congo secretly hold a national day of mourning for lost Independence.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• ability
• autonomy
• self-determination
• self-government
• self-reliance
• self-rule
• self-sufficiency
• separation
• sovereignty