heteronomy

American  

[het-uh-ron-uh-mee] / ˌhɛt əˈrɒn ə mi /

noun

1. the condition of being under the domination of an outside authority, either human or divine.

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Etymology

Origin of heteronomy

First recorded in 1815–25; hetero- + -nomy

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heteronomy

One of its themes contrasts autonomy and heteronomy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026

From it he derives his all-important distinction between religious "heteronomy," which is imposed upon the individual, and religious "autonomy," in which the individual continually seeks and hopes to find.

From Time Magazine Archive

I will therefore call this the principle of autonomy of the will, in contrast with every other which I accordingly reckon as heteronomy.

From Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott

The sensible nature of rational beings in general is their existence under laws empirically conditioned, which, from the point of view of reason, is heteronomy.

From The Critique of Practical Reason by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott

In contrast with the Legislative, the Executive power expresses the heteronomy of the nation in contrast with its autonomy.

From Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Karl Marx

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