autonomy
Americannoun
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independence or freedom, as of the will or one's actions.
the autonomy of the individual.
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the condition of being autonomous; self-government or the right of self-government.
The rebels demanded autonomy from Spain.
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a self-governing community.
noun
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the right or state of self-government, esp when limited
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a state, community, or individual possessing autonomy
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freedom to determine one's own actions, behaviour, etc
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philosophy
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the doctrine that the individual human will is or ought to be governed only by its own principles and laws See also categorical imperative
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the state in which one's actions are autonomous
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of autonomy
First recorded in 1615–25; from Greek autonomía “independence,” equivalent to autónom(os) autonomous + -ia -y 3
Explanation
When a group wants to govern itself or a person wants to make independent decisions, they are looking for autonomy. Autonomy comes from the Greek roots auto meaning "self" and nomos meaning "custom" or "law." This reflects the political sense of the word — a group's right to self-government or self-rule. When a person seeks autonomy, he or she would like to be able to make decisions independently from an authority figure. Can you relate?
Vocabulary lists containing autonomy
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Human Geography - Middle School
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This Week in Words: September 22 - 28, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They may subconsciously view intimacy as a threat to their autonomy and withdraw when relationships become too emotionally close.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
For all these women, it took having terrible, even traumatizing experiences in these movements to make them realize that perhaps it’s not feminist claptrap to believe in equal rights and bodily autonomy.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
He didn’t want to wait until he lost his autonomy and his decision-making ability.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
His new backer Universal not only gives him near-total autonomy, but sacrifices potential home-entertainment revenue by giving his movies an extraordinarily long amount of time exclusively in theaters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
It was the slow retraction, the retreat into autonomy which signaled the approaching end of Briony’s childhood.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
The underlying premise is that charter schools must have certain autonomies and flexibilities to function effectively.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 9, 2023
Spinning on an axis of anxiety, “Huesera” raises the provocative idea that motherhood can feel akin to a curse stripping one of stability and sacred autonomies.
From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2022
Assimilating college sports into the university would prevent them from being run as autonomies or fiefdoms.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 9, 2015
Opinions in Spain would split according to autonomies and political colour.
From Economist ● May 15, 2012
The respective autonomies of the individual, the clan, the hsien and the nation are accounted for; the nature of the democratic nationalist state becomes clear.
From The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I by Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
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.
