American Dictionary

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Definition independent in American English

independent adjective

adjective
/ˌɪndɪˈpendənt/

▪ completely, entirely, genuinely, totally, truly

▪ advice, adviser, arbitration, body, expert, inquiry, observer, tribunal

The usual preposition to use with independent is of, not from:

✗ Credit cards make students feel independent from their parents.

✓ Credit cards make students feel independent of their parents.

✗ But I believe women have the right to be independent from men.

✓ But I believe women have the right to be independent of men.

The pattern independent from is used only when we are talking about a country that is no longer governed by another country:

Brunei became fully independent from the United Kingdom in 1984.

dependent

1

fair because of not being influenced by anyone else

Example

Seek independent legal advice before entering into an agreement.

Example

There have been calls for an independent investigation into the train crash.

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2

ruled by its own government, rather than controlled by another country

Example

The republic was declared a fully independent state.

Example

The Republic of Brazil became independent from Portugal in 1822.

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2.1

not belonging to any political party

Example

He ran as an independent candidate.

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2.2

not employed or controlled by a company

Example

Many TV companies commission all their programs from independent producers.

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3

not depending on other people for help, or preferring to do things by yourself

Example

Even as a child he was fiercely (=very) independent.

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3.1

not depending on other people for money

Example

His wages enabled him to become economically independent of his family.

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4

not connected with or joined to anything else

Example

The equipment has its own independent power supply.

Example

The incidents were completely independent of one another.

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Definition independent in American English