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Synonyms

independence

1 American  
[in-di-pen-duhns] / ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dəns /

noun

  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.

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.

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)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
independence 2 British  
/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Independence Cultural  

  1. City in western Missouri.

Related Words

See freedom.

Discover More

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

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of independence

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

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.

Nations in the Middle East and Africa have largely operated under the understanding that to keep the peace they won’t redraw borders set since independence.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lee is expected to hold a memorial service in Shanghai for activists who fought for Korea's independence from Japan.

From BBC

Yet the entire world considers it the rightful property of Somalia, the vortex of unending chaos from which Hargeisa declared its independence in 1991.

From The Wall Street Journal

Myanmar's junta said on Sunday it would release more than 6,000 prisoners as part of an annual amnesty to mark the country's independence day.

From Barron's

For Davies, hand-painted signage and packaging “that looks like it was designed by a circus mouse” create an impression of independence.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.