independentadjective
uk/ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt/us/ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt/independent adjective (NOT INFLUENCED)
B2 not influenced or controlled in any way by other people, events, or things:
An independent politician does not agree or vote with any particular political party.
More examples
- An independent adviser has been brought in to conciliate between the two sides involved in the conflict.
- It's hard to obtain truly independent financial advice.
- Hundreds of small independent shops will be forced to close by the opening of this superstore.
- We make use of available research facilities and license technology from independent sources.
- The industry has not commented on the results of an independent study into the safety of mobile phones.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Freedom to act
- (as) free as a bird idiom
- at will idiom
- autonomous
- autonomy
- be a law unto yourself idiom
- free hand
- free rein idiom
- free spirit
- free time
- free-form
- hold
- indie
- latitude
- liberty
- maverick
- me time
- no holds barred idiom
- no holds barred
- paddle your own canoe idiom
- volunteer
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independent adjective (NOT RULED)
B2 An independent country is not governed or ruled by another country:
More examples
- The province is nominally independent.
- A bloody civil war followed the proclamation of an independent state.
- The international community has refused to recognize the newly independent nation state.
- The creation of independent states has led to a resurgence of nationalism.
- After India became independent, she chose to be a member of the Commonwealth.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Colonisation & self-government
- annex
- autonomous
- autonomy
- client state
- colonial
- crown colony
- decolonization
- dependency
- devolution
- devolve
- independence
- Independence Day
- nationalism
- nationalist
- neocolonialism
- self-government
- self-rule
- separatism
- separatist
- the British Empire
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independent adjective (NOT HELPED)
B1 not taking help or money from other people:
More examples
- She's fiercely independent.
- She attaches great value to being financially independent.
- She wanted to be independent and beholden to no one.
- She's very mature and independent for her age.
- I wish you'd be a bit more independent.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Unaided and working alone
- fair
- fend for yourself
- go
- go it alone idiom
- own
- self-help
- self-reliant
- self-sufficient
- single-handed
- stand
- stand on your own (two) feet idiom
- steam
- throw
- throw sb back on their own resources idiom
- unaided
- unassisted
- unforced
- unsupported
- with your own fair hand(s) idiom
- yourself
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independent adjective (GRAMMAR)
specialized language An independent grammatical clause forms part of a sentence but can also form a separate sentence.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: grammatical terms
- ablative
- apposition
- attributive
- collocate
- comparative
- declension
- decline
- dependent clause
- grammar
- grammarian
- grammatical
- independent clause
- indirect object
- inflect
- interrogative
- modifier
- plurality
- qualify
- reflexive
- superlative
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Examples
- Husbands and wives may be taxed independently.
- If you've already got experience in word-processing and databases, you can take the spreadsheets module of the course independently.
- For most young people, going to university is their first experience of living independently.
- We were concerned that these animals, kept in captivity for so long, might not be able to survive independently in the wild.
- Several different students came to me independently with the same concern, so I am taking the matter very seriously.
B2
independentnoun [ C ]
uk/ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt/us/ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt/independent noun [ C ] (POLITICS)
a politician who does not represent a political party:
US a voter who does not belong to a political party:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Politics - general words
- a political football idiom
- apolitical
- communism
- con
- conservative
- leftist
- Leninism
- Lib Dem
- liberal
- Liberal Democrats
- political science
- politicize
- politics
- polity
- populism
- the Liberal Party
- the National Front
- the Third Way
- Tory
- tour of duty
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independent noun [ C ] (BUSINESS)
a shop, small business, etc. that is not part of a large company:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Freedom to act
- (as) free as a bird idiom
- at will idiom
- autonomous
- autonomy
- be a law unto yourself idiom
- free hand
- free rein idiom
- free spirit
- free time
- free-form
- hold
- indie
- latitude
- liberty
- maverick
- me time
- no holds barred idiom
- no holds barred
- paddle your own canoe idiom
- volunteer
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics: