independent

[in-di-pen-duhnt]

adjective

1. not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself.

   an independent thinker.

2. not subject to another's authority or jurisdiction; autonomous; free.

   an independent businessman.

3. not influenced by the thought or action of others.

   independent research.

4. not dependent; not depending or contingent upon something else for existence, operation, etc.

5. not relying on another or others for aid or support.

6. rejecting others' aid or support; refusing to be under obligation to others.

7. possessing a competency.

   to be financially independent.

8. sufficient to support a person without their having to work.

   an independent income.

9. executed or originating outside a given unit, agency, business, etc.; external.

   an independent inquiry.

10. working for oneself or for a small, privately owned business.

11. expressive of a spirit of independence; self-confident; unconstrained.

    a free and independent citizen.

12. free from party commitments in voting.

    the independent voter.

13. Mathematics.,  (of a quantity or function) not depending upon another for its value.

14. Grammar.,  capable of standing syntactically as a complete sentence.

    an independent clause.

15. Logic.

    1. (of a set of propositions) having no one proposition deducible from the others.

    2. (of a proposition) belonging to such a set.

16. Statistics.,  statistically independent.

17. (initial capital letter),  adhering or relating to Independency.

noun

1. an independent person or thing.

2. a small, privately owned business.

   The conglomerates are buying up the independents.

3. Politics.,  a person who votes for candidates, measures, etc., in accordance with their own judgment and without regard to the endorsement of, or the positions taken by, any party.

4. (initial capital letter),  an adherent of Independency.

5. British.,  a Congregationalist.

independent

¹

/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndənt /

adjective

1. free from control in action, judgment, etc; autonomous

2. not dependent on anything else for function, validity, etc; separate

   two independent units make up this sofa

3. not reliant on the support, esp financial support, of others

4. capable of acting for oneself or on one's own

   a very independent little girl

5. providing a large unearned sum towards one's support (esp in the phrases independent income, independent means )

6. living on an unearned income

7. maths (of a system of equations) not linearly dependent See also independent variable

8. statistics

   1. (of two or more variables) distributed so that the value taken by one variable will have no effect on that taken by another or others

   2. (of two or more events) such that the probability of all occurring equals the product of their individual probabilities Compare statistical dependence

9. logic

   1. not validly derivable from one another, so that if the propositions are the axioms of some theory none can be dispensed with

   2. not logically related, so that in no case can the truth value of one be inferred from those of the others

noun

1. an independent person or thing

2. a person who is not affiliated to or who acts independently of a political party

Independent

²

/ ˌɪndɪˈpɛndənt /

noun

1. (in England) a member of the Congregational Church

adjective

1. of or relating to Independency

Other Word Forms

• independently adverb
• nonindependent adjective
• nonindependently adverb
• preindependent adjective
• preindependently adverb
• pseudoindependent adjective
• pseudoindependently adverb
• quasi-independent adjective
• quasi-independently adverb
• superindependent adjective
• superindependently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of independent¹

First recorded in 1605–15; in- ³ + dependent

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. independent of, irrespective of; regardless of.

   Independent of monetary considerations, it was a promising position.

Example Sentences

His results suggest that restoring these fundamental cellular functions could help prevent or ease symptoms in vulnerable individuals worldwide, independent of background or environment.

Read more on Science Daily

The state’s current approach, laid out by a panel of independent scientists working with California’s wildfire task force, is three-pronged.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He said the court decision to suspend Zhang as CEO and shift Nexperia shares was independent, but was in line with his assessment.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But Alan Cibils, an independent economist and former professor, warns reduced inflation is only a success if it is sustained over time which he believes will not be the case.

Read more on BBC

Film ratings under the scheme are determined by an independent Classification and Rating Administration board made up of parents.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• autonomous 
• nonpartisan 
• self-reliant 
• self-sufficient 
• separate 
• sovereign