independent: Meaning and Definition of

in•de•pend•ent

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. (of a quantity or function) not depending upon another for its value.
14. capable of standing syntactically as a complete sentence:Cf. dependent (def. 4), (def. 4). an independent clause.
1. (of a set of propositions) having no one proposition deducible from the others.
2. (of a proposition) belonging to such a set.
16. See
17. (cap.)of or pertaining to the Independents.
18. irrespective of; regardless of: Independent of monetary considerations, it was a promising position.

1. an independent person or thing.
2. a small, privately owned business: The conglomerates are buying up the independents.
3. 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.
4. (cap.)an adherent of Independency.
5. a Congregationalist.