adj. 1 free, self-governing, autonomous, sovereign In 1829 Greece was acknowledged as an independent state 2 unrestrained, unrestricted, unfettered, untrammelled, unregulated, uncontrolled, separate(d), unconnected, disconnected, unrelated, distinct Air is made up of independent particles 3 self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-assured, (self-)confident, bold, individualistic, competent For a six-year-old, he is very independent 4 voluntary, non-partisan, spontaneous, unsolicited, unbidden, unprejudiced, unbiased, non-aligned, unaligned, disinterested, neutral Four independent witnesses testified to seeing him at the scene of the crime 5 unlimited, unrestricted, affluent, self-sufficient; unearned She is a woman of independent means 6 unallied, unaffiliated, uncommitted, individualistic, undecided Independent candidates outnumber those of the two main parties in this election 7 outside, external, unaffiliated, non-affiliated, unconnected, disinterested An independent auditor was engaged to go over the company's books 8 independent of. irrespective of, disregarding, notwithstanding, ignoring, excluding; exclusive of, except for, barring, apart from, besides, beyond, US aside from He insists on doing things his way, independent of others' feelings Independent of you and me, no one cares what he does.
n. 9 individual, nonconformist, maverick, Colloq loner He is an independent, not affiliated to any political party