Definition of 'independent'
Word forms: plural independents
1. adjective
If one thing or person is independent of another, they are separate and not connected, so the first one is not affected or
influenced by the second.
[Also + from] 2. adjective
3. adjective
Independent countries and states are not ruled by other countries but have their own government.
[Also + of] 4. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
An independent organization or other body is one that controls its own finances and operations, rather than being controlled by someone else.
5. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
7. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
An independent politician is one who does not represent any political party.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
independent in British English
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 child
5.
6.
living on an unearned income
8. statistics
a.
(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
b.
(of two or more events) such that the probability of all occurring equals the product of their individual probabilities
Compare statistical dependencenoun
10.
an independent person or thing
11.
a person who is not affiliated to or who acts independently of a political party
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
independently (ˌindeˈpendently) adverb
Word Frequency
Independent in British English
noun
1.
(in England) a member of the Congregational Church
adjective
2.
of or relating to Independency
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
independent in American English
adjective
1.
free from the influence, control, or determination of another or others
; specif.,a.
free from the rule of another; controlling or governing oneself; self-governing
c.
relying only on oneself or one's own abilities, judgment, etc.; self-confident; self-reliant
independent in his thinking
e.
not connected or related to another, to each other, or to a group; separate
an independent grocer
2.
a.
not depending on another or others, esp. for financial support
b.
large enough to enable one to live without working
said of an income, a fortune, etc.c.
having an independent income; not needing to work for a living
3. [I-]
of or having to do with Independents
noun
4.
a person who is independent in thinking, action, etc.
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
independently (ˌindeˈpendently)
adverb
Word Frequency
independent in American English
(ˌɪndɪˈpendənt)
adjective
1.
not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking
or acting for oneself
an independent thinker
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.
9.
an independent inquiry
10.
working for oneself or for a small, privately owned business
11.
a free and independent citizen
13. Math (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 (sense 4), main1 (sense 4)15. Logic
a. (of a set of propositions)
having no one proposition deducible from the others
b. (of a proposition)
belonging to such a set
17. (cap) Ecclesiast
of or pertaining to the Independents
18. See independent of
noun
19.
an independent person or thing
20.
a small, privately owned business
The conglomerates are buying up the independents
21. 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
22. (cap) Ecclesiast
an adherent of Independency
23. Brit
a member of a Protestant denomination where each church is independent and self-governing; Congregationalist
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
independently adverb
Word origin
[1605–15; in-3 + dependent]Word Frequency
independent in Retail
(ɪndɪpɛndənt)
adjective
(Retail: Outlets)
The independent retailer cannot compete with the large-scale retailer in economies of buying.
An independent retailer is one who builds his or his business from the ground up.
An independent retailer is one that is not part of the big retail chains.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Retail. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'independent' in a sentence
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In other languages
independent
British English: independent
/ˌɪndɪˈpɛndənt/ ADJECTIVE
Someone who is independent does not rely on other people.
- American English: independent /ɪndɪˈpɛndənt/
- Arabic: مُسْتَقِلٌ
- Brazilian Portuguese: independente
- Chinese: 独立的
- Croatian: neovisan
- Czech: nezávislý
- Danish: uafhængig
- Dutch: onafhankelijk
- European Spanish: independiente
- Finnish: itsenäinen
- French: indépendant
- German: unabhängig
- Greek: ανεξάρτητος
- Italian: indipendente
- Japanese: 独立した
- Korean: 독립적인
- Norwegian: uavhengig
- Polish: niezależny
- European Portuguese: independente
- Romanian: independent
- Russian: независимый
- Latin American Spanish: independiente que no tiene dependencia
- Swedish: självständig
- Thai: อิสระ, ซึ่งไม่ขึ้นกับใคร, ซึ่งพึ่งพาตนเอง
- Turkish: bağımsız
- Ukrainian: незалежний
- Vietnamese: độc lập
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