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independent Definition

in·de·pend·ent (in′dē pen′dənt, -di-)

adjective

  1. free from the influence, control, or determination of another or others; specif.,
    1. free from the rule of another; controlling or governing oneself; self-governing
    2. free from influence, persuasion, or bias; objective an independent observer
    3. relying only on oneself or one's own abilities, judgment, etc.; self-confident; self-reliant independent in his thinking
    4. not adhering to any political party or organization an independent voter
    5. not connected or related to another, to each other, or to a group; separate an independent grocer
    1. not depending on another or others, esp. for financial support
    2. large enough to enable one to live without working: said of an income, a fortune, etc.
    3. having an independent income; not needing to work for a living
  3. of or having to do with Independents

Etymology: ML independens: see in- & dependent

noun

  1. a person who is independent in thinking, action, etc.
  2. ☆ a voter who is not an adherent of or committed to any political party
  3. a member of a religious and political movement of the 17th cent. in England that advocated self-sufficiency of each local Christian church: the movement led to the organization of Congregationalists and Baptists

independent Related Forms
in′·de·pend′·ently adverb
independent Idioms

independent of

apart from; regardless of

independent Synonyms

independent

modif.

  1. Free

    self-governing, autonomous, sovereign; see free 1, 2.

  2. Self-reliant

    self-sufficient, self-supporting, individualistic, inner-directed; see confident 2, unconventional.

  3. Neutral

    objective, detached, nonpartisan; see fair 1, nonpartisan.

independent Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • observer: Systems neither exist independent of an observer nor imply a purpose.
  • government: The self-regulatory system is funded by the industry, in order to be cost free to the public and independent of government.
  • hardware: SGML supports an infinite variety of document structures and is independent of any specific hardware or software.

Preposition: since

  • healthmatters: Non-profitmaking and independent since 1988 healthmatters is a member of INK, the Independent News Collective, trade association of the UK alternative press.

Modifying Another Word

  • fiercely: For long these schools although sharing the same site were fiercely independent.
  • financially: Our key aims are to help our customers become financially independent and help reduce child poverty.
  • totally: The babies start eating within twenty four hours of birth and are totally independent of their mother at three weeks of age.
  • completely: You think we must try to become completely independent?
  • truly: And how many advisers are truly independent and original in their advice - rather than merely the beneficiaries of government patronage?
  • entirely: But entirely independent of that, somebody else could have been in my place, for somebody had to occupy it.

Modifies a noun

  • adviser: I was also press officer for the Essex Environment Trust and a leading independent waste adviser.
  • living: Our primary aim is to promote independent living to the maximum for those people who choose to live here.
  • advice: A lack of independent advice will lead to a loss of confidence in direct payments by service users.
  • consultant: Neither of the independent consultants took part in this process.
  • body: All postgraduate taught courses should be assessed by an independent body on a regular basis.
  • retailer: Other findings were; Almost 25 % of independent retailers or their staff have been victims of violent crime at work.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: Headteacher may choose to be a governor or opt to remain independent.
  • become: You think we must try to become completely independent?
  • stay: We might join one of these or stay independent, that's really dependent on numbers.
  • exist: Systems neither exist independent of an observer nor imply a purpose.
independent Quotes

It does mean the end of Britain as an independent European state. It means the end of a thousand years of history.

—Gaitskell, Hugh

The American continents, by the free and independent condition that they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonisation byany European powers† In the wars of the Europeanpowers inmattersrelating to ourselves, we have never taken any part; nor does it comport with our policy to do so.

—Adams,John Quincy

The escalator from the Social Predestination Room† One circuit of the cellar at ground level, one on the first gallery, half on the second, and on the two hundred and sixty-seventh morning, daylight in the Decanting Room. Independent existenceöso called.

—Huxley, Aldous Leonard

He wanted to be independent of the vagaries of butlers.

—Acheson, Dean Gooderham