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• independence
  independence

  noun

  Also the state or quality of being independent.
• Independence
  Independence

  noun

  a city in W Missouri: starting point of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.

independence

¹ American  

[in-di-pen-duhns] / ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dəns /

noun

independence plural

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.

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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.

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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)

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independence ² British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns /

noun

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

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Independence Cultural  

1. City in western Missouri.

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Synonym Usage

See freedom.

Discover More

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• independence
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

independence Independence

Nauru, which was a dependent territory of Australia until independence in 1968, was heavily mined in the late 20th Century.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Aung San is "engraved in people's memory" as Myanmar's independence hero, and many see his legacy being continued by his daughter, according to Myanmar specialist Moe Thuzar.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

The Bank of England made the British Empire the mightiest in the world, but the North American colonies remained a financial backwater as they struggled to assert their independence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

From the outset, Oseman knew she wanted to end “Heartstopper” with Nick going off to university in Leeds and Charlie, who is a year younger, finding independence as head boy at school.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

She had gotten used to having her afternoons to explore the house and visit with Clara; it had become the only bit of independence she had in her life.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Garcia is American with Mexican heritage and the fight will take place on the weekend before Mexican Independence Day.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence should be more than fireworks, parades and patriotic songs.

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

U.S. natural gas futures ended modestly lower heading into the long Independence Day weekend with little impact from an above-estimate inventory build.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

July 4 fell during a record-breaking heat wave that upended the parades, block parties and barbecues that traditionally mark Independence Day.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

But if she was, I couldn’t find her in the crowd, which well before train time had swelled bigger than for our Southern Independence Day Parade on the Glorious Fourth.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• ability
• autonomy
• self-determination
• self-government
• self-reliance
• self-rule
• self-sufficiency
• separation
• sovereignty