INDEPENDENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does independent mean? 

• INDEPENDENT (noun)
  The noun INDEPENDENT has 2 senses:

1. a neutral or uncommitted person (especially in politics)

2. a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them

  Familiarity information: INDEPENDENT used as a noun is rare.

• INDEPENDENT (adjective)
  The adjective INDEPENDENT has 4 senses:

1. free from external control and constraint

2. (of political bodies) not controlled by outside forces

3. (of a clause) capable of standing syntactically alone as a complete sentence

4. not controlled by a party or interest group

  Familiarity information: INDEPENDENT used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INDEPENDENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A neutral or uncommitted person (especially in politics)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

fencesitter; independent; mugwump

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

individualist (a person who pursues independent thought or action)

Domain category:

government; political science; politics (the study of government of states and other political units)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

free-lance; free lance; freelance; freelancer; independent; self-employed person

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

worker (a person who works at a specific occupation)

• INDEPENDENT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Free from external control and constraint

Context example:

fiercely independent individualism

Similar:

case-by-case; individual; item-by-item (separate and distinct from others of the same kind)

unconditional (not contingent; not determined or influenced by someone or something else)

unaffiliated (not affiliated)

strong-minded (marked by vigorous independence of thought and judgment)

single-handed (without help from others)

self-supporting (financially independent)

self-sufficient; self-sufficing; self-sustaining (able to provide for your own needs without help from others)

indie ((of pop groups) not affiliated with a major recording company)

free-living; nonparasitic; nonsymbiotic (not parasitic on another organism)

commutative ((of a binary operation) independent of order; as in e.g.)

breakaway; fissiparous; separatist (having separated or advocating separation from another entity or policy or attitude)

autonomous (existing as an independent entity)

autonomous; self-directed; self-reliant ((of persons) free from external control and constraint in e.g. action and judgment)

autarkic; autarkical (of countries; not relying on imports)

Also:

free (not limited or hampered; not under compulsion or restraint)

separate (independent; not united or joint)

Attribute:

independence; independency (freedom from control or influence of another or others)

Antonym:

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

Derivation:

independence; independency (freedom from control or influence of another or others)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(of political bodies) not controlled by outside forces

Synonyms:

autonomous; independent; self-governing; sovereign

Context example:

a sovereign state

Similar:

free (not limited or hampered; not under compulsion or restraint)

Derivation:

independence (freedom from control or influence of another or others)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(of a clause) capable of standing syntactically alone as a complete sentence

Synonyms:

independent; main

Context example:

the main (or independent) clause in a complex sentence has at least a subject and a verb

Domain category:

grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))

Antonym:

dependent ((of a clause) unable to stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Not controlled by a party or interest group

Similar:

nonpartisan; nonpartizan (free from party affiliation or bias)

Derivation:

independence (freedom from control or influence of another or others)

 Context examples 

You entered the room with a look and air at once shy and independent: you were quaintly dressed—much as you are now.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

To provide support for a transition period between postdoctoral training and an independent research career.

(Mentored Research Scientist Development Award, NCI Thesaurus)

These IPR effects appear to be independent of previously described pathways.

(New Pathway for Handling Stress Discovered, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The BLAST bit score allows for alignment comparisons between independent searches.

(BLAST Bit Score, NCI Thesaurus)

She was very independent in little matters like that.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The project continues to house a biobank of collected tissue samples, as well as extracted DNA and RNA for future studies by independent researchers.

(NIH completes atlas of human DNA differences that influence gene expression, National Institutes of Health)

Only age was an independent predictor of hair whitening.

(Grey Hair Linked with Increased Heart Disease Risk in Men, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A scientist or other professional who is an independent, non-participant in the agent development effort.

(Agent Expert, NCI Thesaurus)

The findings were, in turn, confirmed in an additional independent sample of 210 healthy participants.

(Connectome map more than doubles human cortex’s known regions, NIH)

This allele, which encodes protein LYRIC, plays a role in transcriptional regulation, promotion of tumor cell anchorage-independent growth and metastasis.

(MTDH wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)