[in-di-pen-duh
nt] 
| 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. | Mathematics. (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 (def. 4), main 1 (def. 4). |
| 15. | Logic.
|
| 16. | Statistics. statistically independent. |
| 17. | (initial capital letter) Ecclesiastical. of or pertaining to the Independents. |
| 18. | an independent person or thing. |
| 19. | a small, privately owned business: The conglomerates are buying up the independents. |
| 20. | 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. |
| 21. | (initial capital letter) Ecclesiastical. an adherent of Independency. |
| 22. | British. a Congregationalist. |
| 23. | independent of, irrespective of; regardless of: Independent of monetary considerations, it was a promising position. |