INDEPENDENCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Independence mean? 

• INDEPENDENCE (noun)
  The noun INDEPENDENCE has 3 senses:

1. freedom from control or influence of another or others

2. the successful ending of the American Revolution

3. a city in western Missouri; the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail

  Familiarity information: INDEPENDENCE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INDEPENDENCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Freedom from control or influence of another or others

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

independence; independency

Hypernyms ("independence" is a kind of...):

freedom (the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints)

Attribute:

dependent (relying on or requiring a person or thing for support, supply, or what is needed)

independent (free from external control and constraint)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "independence"):

autonomy; liberty (immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence)

autarchy; autarky (economic independence as a national policy)

autonomy; self-direction; self-reliance; self-sufficiency (personal independence)

separateness (political independence)

Derivation:

independent (free from external control and constraint)

independent (not controlled by a party or interest group)

independent ((of political bodies) not controlled by outside forces)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The successful ending of the American Revolution

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

they maintained close relations with England even after independence

Hypernyms ("independence" is a kind of...):

triumph; victory (a successful ending of a struggle or contest)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A city in western Missouri; the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Instance hypernyms:

city; metropolis; urban center (a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts)

Holonyms ("Independence" is a part of...):

Missouri; MO; Mo.; Show Me State (a midwestern state in central United States; a border state during the American Civil War, Missouri was admitted to the Confederacy without actually seceding from the Union)

 Context examples 

Amy's definition of Jo's idea of independence was such a good hit that both burst out laughing, and the discussion took a more amiable turn.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Such a man, to quit the tranquillity and independence of his own fireside, and on the evening of a cold sleety April day rush out again into the world!

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

The time was yet to come for independence.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

All were attracted at first by the plants or the pheasants, and all dispersed about in happy independence.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

We kept our independence, therefore, and had our weapons ready for any emergency, while preserving the most friendly relations.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Instead of pushing his fortune in the line marked out for the heir of the house of Elliot, he had purchased independence by uniting himself to a rich woman of inferior birth.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

To be tied down to the regular payment of such a sum, on every rent day, is by no means desirable: it takes away one's independence.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

That’s why I say you might have found the enormous courage to take a big step toward your own independence and future path.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

You have deprived the best years of his life of that independence which was no less his due than his desert.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Scale (PDQUALIF) Maintaining my independence is important to me.

(PDQUALIF - Important to Maintain Independence, NCI Thesaurus)