Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

independent

 adjective
     
Related topics: Government
in‧de‧pen‧dent W2
1

not owned/controlled by something

[usually before noun] an independent organization is not owned or controlled by, or does not receive money from, another organization or the government:
There are plans to split the corporation into a number of smaller independent companies.
an independent charity
small independent bookshops
independent of
We need a central bank that is independent of the government.
independent school especially British English (=one not owned or paid for by the government)
schools in the independent sector
independent television/radio/broadcasting etc British English (=not owned or paid for by the government)
independent television companies
independent film (=one not made or produced by a large film production company)
2

fair

[usually before noun] an independent organization or person is not involved in a particular situation, and can therefore be trusted to be fair in judging it:
an independent panel of scientists
An independent body (=group of people who work together) has been set up to monitor government spending.
There were no independent witnesses to the shooting.
independent inquiry/advice/opinion etc (=carried out by or given by an independent person or organization)
Human rights groups have called for an independent inquiry into the killings.
the results of an independent study
3

country

PG an independent country is not governed or controlled by another country:
India became independent in 1947.
4

person

a) confident and able to do things by yourself in your own way, without needing help or advice from other people [≠ dependent]:
Now that my sons are more independent, I have more time for myself.
an independent young woman
He's helping other people with spinal injuries to lead an independent life.
independent of
By this age, the child becomes relatively independent of his mother.
b) having enough money to live without having to ask for help from other people:
It was always very important to me to be financially independent.
independent of
Robert aimed to be independent of his parents by the time he was twenty.
5

independent study/learning

when you study on your own rather than being taught by a teacher:
The tapes can be used in class or for independent study.
6

woman/man etc of independent means

BF someone who has their own income from property, investments etc, so that they do not have to work or depend on anyone else
7

separate

if one thing is independent of another, the two are not connected, or the second thing does not influence the first
independent of
reports from two separate sources entirely independent of one another
Three independent studies all arrived at the same conclusion.
8

politician

[usually before noun] an independent politician does not belong to a particular party:
Independent candidates won three seats.
—independently adverb:
The two departments operate independently of each other.
She had elderly parents who could no longer live independently.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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