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

The demonstration follows a crackdown on activists, independent media and political opposition in recent months, with most of the leaders of the pro-Western opposition now behind bars.

From BBC

Ever since Hoover’s death in 1972, presidents have typically nominated independent candidates with bipartisan support and law enforcement roots to run the FBI.

From Salon

When California voters passed Proposition 22, the ballot measure the companies funded in 2020, drivers were classified as independent contractors who, under federal law, do not have the right to organize.

From Los Angeles Times

Addressing the grandparents and mother as he sentenced them, the judge described Ethan as a "two-year-old with an independent spirit".

From BBC

The average cost of funding one place at a state special school is £23,900 per year, or £61,500 per year for an independent special school.

From BBC

Related Words

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