independence
noun
Also the state or quality of being independent.
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independence
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Independence
Independencenouna city in W Missouri: starting point of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.
independence
1 American
[in-di-pen-duhns]
/ ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dəns /
noun
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independence
plural
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Also the state or quality of being independent.
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freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others.
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Archaic. a competency.
Independence
2
American
[in-di-pen-duhns]
/ ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dəns /
noun
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a city in W Missouri: starting point of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.
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a town in SE Kansas.
Independence
1
British
/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns /
noun
independence
2
British
/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns /
noun
Independence
Cultural
Synonym Usage
See freedom.
Discover More
Beginning of the Santa Fe Trail, used by settlers moving west.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing independence
The American Revolution - Introductory
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Eastern Europe - Introductory
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Pacific Islands - Introductory
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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:
The group has grown closer with Iran in recent years but is seen as having more independence from Tehran than other militant groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Opponents in the movie industry say the combined company would slash jobs in already-under-pressure Hollywood and reduce the number of films produced every year, while news media groups fret that CNN's independence could be tamed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
"Even gradual changes can affect confidence and independence, and people may notice they tire more quickly or feel less steady, especially on uneven ground."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Concerns about Federal Reserve independence and the likely return on massive artificial-intelligence investments are lingering in the background.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
His career, indeed his entire life, was made by the American Revolution; and he, in turn, had made American independence his life’s project.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
He expressed frustration with a perceived lag in the arrival of aid while the nation celebrated Independence Day with pomp and ceremony in the capital Jakarta.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Later, he joked that the "AC was cooking" inside the venue, an apparent reference to the heatwave that swept over the country over the Independence Day weekend.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Aug. 2 marked 250 years since John Adams signed the Declaration of Independence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
In Netflix’s new “Little House on the Prairie” adaptation, the first person that the Ingalls family encounters on their journey to Independence, Kansas, is a Black man.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
He studied the mall map like it was the Declaration of Independence.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
