independence


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to independence: Declaration of Independence

In·de·pen·dence

 (ĭn′dĭ-pĕn′dəns)
A city of western Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. It was a starting point for the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails during the 1800s.

in·de·pen·dence

 (ĭn′dĭ-pĕn′dəns)
n.
1. The state or quality of being independent.
2. Archaic Sufficient income for comfortable self-support; a competence.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

independence

(ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns)
n
the state or quality of being independent. Also called: independency

Independence

(ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns)
n
(Placename) a city in W Missouri, near Kansas City: starting point for the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails (1831–44). Pop: 112 079 (2003 est)
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•de•pend•ence

(ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dəns)

n.
1. the quality or state of being independent.
2. Archaic. a sufficient income; competence.
[1630–40]

In•de•pend•ence

(ˌɪn dɪˈpɛn dəns)

n.
a city in W Missouri: starting point of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails. 110,303.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Independence

 

(See also SELF-RELIANCE.)

independent as a hog on ice Cockily self-assured; pigheadedly independent.

He don’t appear to care nothing for nobody—he’s “independent as a hog on ice.” (San Francisco Call, April, 1857)

It has been unconvincingly conjectured that this American expression, popular since the 1800s, derives from the Scottish ice game of curling in which hog refers to a pucklike stone that stops short of its goal, thus coming to rest and sitting sluggishly immovable on the ice.

But no other proffered explanation appears plausible either. The puzzling simile nevertheless continues on in popular usage.

They like to think of themselves as independents—independent as a hog on ice. (Time, August, 1948)

lone wolf A loner; one who, although leading an active social life, chooses not to divulge his personal philosophies; a person who pursues neither close friendship nor intimate relationships. Although most wolves live in small packs, some choose to live and hunt solitarily. The expression’s contemporary usage often carries an implication of aloofness to or disillusionment with the mainstream of society.

An individualist to be watched unless he should develop into too much of a lone wolf. (G. F. Newman, Sir, You Bastard, 1970)

march to the beat of a different drummer To follow the dictates of one’s own conscience instead of prevailing convention; to act in accord with one’s own feelings instead of following the crowd; also, to be odd or eccentric. This expression comes from these now famous words of Henry David Thoreau in Walden, or Life in the Woods (1854):

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

If one man in a marching column is out of step, it may look as if he is marching to the beat of another drummer, or as if he is simply “out of it.” Such a one is considered either an independent or an eccentric.

maverick An intractable or refractory person; a person who adheres to unconventional or unpopular ideals that set him apart from society’s mainstream; a dissenter, a loner. This expression is credited to the early 19th-century Texas rancher Samuel Maverick, who consistently neglected to brand his cattle, and it still maintains its meaning of an unbranded cow, steer, or calf. Through allusion to these unmarked cattle, maverick evolved its now more common nonconformist sense by the late 1800s:

A very muzzy Maverick smote his sergeant on the nose. (Rudyard Kipling, Life’s Handicaps, 1892)

In the United States the expression has developed the additional meaning of a politician who resists affiliation with the established political parties, or whose views differ significantly from those of his fellow party members.

One Republican Senator, and by no means a conspicuous maverick, pointed out that the Senate might nave acted. (Chicago Daily News, 1948)

mugwump A politically independent person; a person who is indecisive or neutral on controversial issues. This expression is derived from the Algon-quian Indian word mogkiomp ‘great man, big chief,’ and was first used by Charles A. Dana of the New York Sun in reference to the Republicans who declined to support their party’s 1884 presidential candidate, James G. Baine. The term thus evolved its current figurative sense of a political maverick.

A few moments after Secretary Wallace made his pun, he hastened to add that he himself had been a mugwump. (Tuscaloosa News, March, 1946)

A jocular origin is ascribed to the word: a mugwump is one who sits on the fence, with his mug on one side and his wump on the other. In addition to its political sense, the British use mugwump to describe a self-important person who assumes airs and behaves in an aloof or pompous manner.

sail against the wind To think or act independently of popular or accepted convention, opinion, trends, etc.; to march to the beat of a different drummer. This expression refers to the difficulty of sailing into a wind in order to reach one’s destination. Although sail against the wind is sometimes applied figuratively to a person who is inflexible and stubborn, it more often refers to one who does not succumb to peer or social pressure, but rather pursues his own course irrespective of the opinions and customs of others.

Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1980 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.independence - freedom from control or influence of another or othersindependence - freedom from control or influence of another or others
freedom - the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
autonomy, liberty - immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence
autarchy, autarky - economic independence as a national policy
separateness - political independence; "seeking complete political separateness for Taiwan"
2.independence - the successful ending of the American Revolution; "they maintained close relations with England even after independence"
triumph, victory - a successful ending of a struggle or contest; "a narrow victory"; "the general always gets credit for his army's victory"; "clinched a victory"; "convincing victory"; "the agreement was a triumph for common sense"
3.Independence - a city in western Missouri; the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail
Missouri, Show Me State, MO - a midwestern state in central United States; a border state during the American Civil War, Missouri was admitted to the Confederacy without actually seceding from the Union
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

independence

noun
2. self-sufficiency, self-reliance, self-sustenance He was afraid of losing his independence.
3. neutrality, detachment, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, disinterest, open-mindedness, even-handedness, disinterestedness, dispassion, nonpartisanship, lack of bias He stressed the importance of the judge's independence.
Quotations
"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude after our own; but the great man is he who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude" [Ralph Waldo Emerson `Self-Reliance']
"He travels the fastest who travels alone" [Rudyard Kipling The Story of the Gadsbys]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

independence

noun
1. The condition of being politically free:
2. The capacity to manage one's own affairs, make one's own judgments, and provide for oneself:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
إِسْتِقْلالإسْتِقْلالاستقلال
nezávislost
uafhængighedselvstændighed
itsenäisyysriippumattomuus
neovisnostnezavisnost
függetlenségönállóságanyagi függetlenség
sjálfstæðisjálfstæîi
独立
독립
nezávislosť
neodvisnost
självständighet
อิสรภาพ
sự độc lập

independence

[ˌɪndɪˈpendəns]
A. Nindependencia f
war of independenceguerra f de independencia
Zaire gained or won independence in 1960Zaire obtuvo la independencia or se independizó en 1960
B. CPD Independence Day NDía m de la Independencia FOURTH OF JULY
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

independence

[ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns] n
[country] → indépendance f
to declare independence → déclarer son indépendance
to declare independence from → s'affranchir de
[person] → indépendance f
to lose one's independence → perdre son indépendance
independence of mind → indépendance d'espritIndependence Day n (US)fête f de l'Indépendance américaine (le 4 juillet)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

independence

nUnabhängigkeit f(of von); (of person: in attitude, spirit also) → Selbstständigkeit f; to gain or achieve/declare independencedie Unabhängigkeit erlangen/erklären
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

independence

[ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns] nindipendenza
the country gained independence in 1964 → il paese ha conquistato l'indipendenza nel 1964
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

independent

(indiˈpendənt) adjective
1. not controlled by other people, countries etc. an independent country; That country is now independent of Britain.independiente
2. not willing to accept help. an independent old lady.independiente
3. having enough money to support oneself. She is completely independent and receives no money from her family; She is now independent of her parents.independiente
4. not relying on, or affected by, something or someone else. an independent observer; to arrive at an independent conclusion.independiente
indeˈpendence noun
independencia
indeˈpendently adverb
independientemente
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

independence

independencia
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
The independence of each separate State had never been declared of right.
In astronomy it was the immovability of the earth, in history it is the independence of personality- free will.
Meanwhile Cedric and Athelstane, the leaders of the troop, conversed together on the state of the land, on the dissensions of the royal family, on the feuds and quarrels among the Norman nobles, and on the chance which there was that the oppressed Saxons might be able to free themselves from the yoke of the Normans, or at least to elevate themselves into national consequence and independence, during the civil convulsions which were likely to ensue.
If Americans are to retain the sacred liberties for which their fathers strove, Congress must declare our independence of European dictation by maintaining the price of mules."
BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the thirteenth day of June, in the forty-seventh year of the Independence of the United States of America, Charles Wiley, of the said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words and figures following, to wit:
Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore?
It may perhaps be asked, how the shortness of the duration in office can affect the independence of the Executive on the legislature, unless the one were possessed of the power of appointing or displacing the other.
It is equally wonderful that men of such different characters were all made to unite in the one object of establishing the freedom and independence of America.
His want of spirits, of openness, and of consistency, were most usually attributed to his want of independence, and his better knowledge of Mrs.
The plan was that she should be brought up for educating others; the very few hundred pounds which she inherited from her father making independence impossible.
Do these principles, in fine, require that the powers of the general government should be limited, and that, beyond this limit, the States should be left in possession of their sovereignty and independence? We have seen that in the new government, as in the old, the general powers are limited; and that the States, in all unenumerated cases, are left in the enjoyment of their sovereign and independent jurisdiction.
Bennet had no turn for economy, and her husband's love of independence had alone prevented their exceeding their income.