independent

[in-di-pen-duh nt] /ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dənt/
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 his 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.
Compare dependent (def 4), main1 (def 4).
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) Ecclesiastical. of or pertaining to the Independents.
noun
18.
an independent person or thing.
19.
a small, privately owned business:
The conglomerates are buying up the independents.
20.
Politics. a person who votes for candidates, measures, etc., in accordance with his or her own judgment and without regard to the endorsement of, or the positions taken by, any party.
21.
(initial capital letter) Ecclesiastical. an adherent of Independency.
22.
British. a Congregationalist.
Idioms
23.
independent of, irrespective of; regardless of:
Independent of monetary considerations, it was a promising position.
Origin
1605-15; in-3 + dependent
Related 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
Examples from the web for independent
  • independent from the start, he ran away from home twice.
  • The itinerary factors in ample time for independent exploring during the city stays.
  • Bees reach this decision by gathering information, conducting independent evaluations, and holding a kind of vote.
  • Females typically give birth to about five pups, which are not independent until six to eight months of age.
  • They have no independent means of propulsion and either drift on the currents or catch the wind with their pneumatophores.
  • Companies needed to have powerful shareholders and independent directors to keep a watchful eye on managers.
  • Other efforts seek to turn independent politicians-often seen as cranks and amateurs-into effective candidates.
  • But the result is that he could easily alienate the independent supporters who are his great strength.
  • Prospective member countries have been ordered to reform their legal systems and create independent anti-corruption agencies.
  • Let's try genuinely independent, professional boards of directors.
British Dictionary definitions for independent

independent

/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, of a set of propositions)
  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
10.
an independent person or thing
11.
a person who is not affiliated to or who acts independently of a political party
Derived Forms
independently, adverb

Independent

/ˌɪndɪˈpɛndənt/
noun
1.
(in England) a member of the Congregational Church
adjective
2.
of or relating to Independency
Word Origin and History for independent
adj.

1610s, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + dependent. French independant is attested from c.1600; Italian independente from 1590s. Noun meaning "person not acting as part of a political party" is from 1808. Related: Independently.