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• independent
  independent

  adjective

  not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself.
• Independent
  Independent

  noun

  (in England) a member of the Congregational Church

independent

American  

[in-di-pen-duhnt] / ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dənt /

adjective

1. not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself.

   an independent thinker.

2. not subject to another's authority or jurisdiction; autonomous; free.

   an independent businessman.

3. not influenced by the thought or action of others.

   independent research.

4. not dependent; not depending or contingent upon something else for existence, operation, etc.

5. not relying on another or others for aid or support.

6. rejecting others' aid or support; refusing to be under obligation to others.

7. possessing a competency.

   to be financially independent.

8. sufficient to support a person without their having to work.

   an independent income.

9. executed or originating outside a given unit, agency, business, etc.; external.

   an independent inquiry.

10. working for oneself or for a small, privately owned business.

11. expressive of a spirit of independence; self-confident; unconstrained.

    a free and independent citizen.

12. free from party commitments in voting.

    the independent voter.

13. Mathematics. (of a quantity or function) not depending upon another for its value.

14. Grammar. capable of standing syntactically as a complete sentence.

    an independent clause.

15. Logic.

    1. (of a set of propositions) having no one proposition deducible from the others.

    2. (of a proposition) belonging to such a set.

16. Statistics. statistically independent.

17. (initial capital letter) adhering or relating to Independency.

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noun

• independents
  plural

1. an independent person or thing.

2. a small, privately owned business.

   The conglomerates are buying up the independents.

3. Politics. a person who votes for candidates, measures, etc., in accordance with their own judgment and without regard to the endorsement of, or the positions taken by, any party.

4. (initial capital letter) an adherent of Independency.

5. British. a Congregationalist.

idioms

1. independent of, irrespective of; regardless of.

   Independent of monetary considerations, it was a promising position.

independent ¹ British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndənt /

adjective

1. free from control in action, judgment, etc; autonomous

2. not dependent on anything else for function, validity, etc; separate

   two independent units make up this sofa

3. not reliant on the support, esp financial support, of others

4. capable of acting for oneself or on one's own

   a very independent little girl

5. providing a large unearned sum towards one's support (esp in the phrases independent income, independent means )

6. living on an unearned income

7. maths (of a system of equations) not linearly dependent See also independent variable

8. statistics

   1. (of two or more variables) distributed so that the value taken by one variable will have no effect on that taken by another or others

   2. (of two or more events) such that the probability of all occurring equals the product of their individual probabilities Compare statistical dependence

9. logic

   1. not validly derivable from one another, so that if the propositions are the axioms of some theory none can be dispensed with

   2. not logically related, so that in no case can the truth value of one be inferred from those of the others

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noun

1. an independent person or thing

2. a person who is not affiliated to or who acts independently of a political party

Independent ² British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndənt /

noun

1. (in England) a member of the Congregational Church

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adjective

1. of or relating to Independency

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonindependent
  adjective
• preindependent
  adjective
• pseudoindependent
  adjective
• quasi-independent
  adjective
• superindependent
  adjective
• independently
  adverb
• nonindependently
  adverb
• preindependently
  adverb
• pseudoindependently
  adverb
• quasi-independently
  adverb
• superindependently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• independents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of independent

First recorded in 1605–15; in- ³ + dependent

Explanation

If your brother says you broke his guitar and you say you weren't anywhere near it, your parents may ask your sister for an independent opinion, as she has no reason to lie. An independent person is free from the control or influence of other people. The root word, depend, originally meant "to hang down." We use the word hang in a similar way. If the decision to build a new stadium hangs on funding, the decision won't be made till the money comes in. To be independent means that you don't depend on your parents to pay your bills. Or, for a three year old, it may mean going to the bathroom "all by yourself." It's all relative.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

independent Independent independents

Fiosrú's on-call team of investigators attended the scene and an independent investigation is ongoing.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

It is less clear whether independent open-model developers can make enough revenue to pay for the gargantuan cost of training a cutting-edge model.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

And California law does allow parents to skip immunizations for children who are enrolled in independent study programs and do not receive classroom-based instruction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

My spouse is financially secure independent of my retirement assets.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Wittgenstein’s whole undertaking, as interpreted by the sociologists, is directed at disputing the idea that there can be perception independent of enunciation.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The National Federation of Independent Business said that its small-business optimism index rose to 99.8, its highest level since August 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

The National Federation of Independent Business small-business optimism index rose to 99.8 in July, its highest level since August 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Independent productions are a meaningful share of SAG-AFTRA members’ income, particularly as major studios chase incentives abroad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Some 35 bodies and more than 100 sets of ashes were found by police who raided Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull following a tip-off in March 2024.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

“She belongs to the Independent Church of Prairie Lea.”

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

There are 12 political parties and 20 independents standing.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

“I think many of them will end up voting for him, independents as well, of course.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

The easy money has been made, though—the big independents have appreciated between 55% and 85% and small ones like PBF even more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

But any nominee will have to unite Platner's wounded supporters with moderates, independents and women voters wary of a party that just watched its chosen candidate implode.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

“Every hotel concierge knows who to call if some guest wants tickets. All I’m sayin’ is, it’s not as easy as you think for a couple of independents.

From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar

Related Words

• autonomous
• nonpartisan
• self-reliant
• self-sufficient
• separate
• sovereign