autonomous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   existing as an independent entity

   the partitioning of India created two separate and autonomous jute economies

2. 2
   adj

   of political bodies, not controlled by outside forces

   The autonomous group was called in to investigate corruption.

3. 3
   adj

   Governing itself independently.

   an autonomous territory

4. 4
   adj

   Of or relating to a territory that governs itself independently.

   1923, Ernest Bramah, The Eyes of Max Carrados "Thank you, Louis," interrupted Carrados. "It is very nice to learn that. But I am really going to Kingsmouth because there's a man there—a curate—who has the second best private collection in Europe of autonomous coins of Thessaly."

5. 5
   adj

   Acting on one's own or independently; of a child, acting without being governed by parental or guardian rules.

   Though Cade has for years reported on the development of autonomous vehicles, test drives usually have so-called safety drivers who ride along and can take over in case something goes wrong.

6. 6
   adj

   (of persons) free from external control and constraint in e.g. action and judgment

7. 7
   adj

   Sentient; self-aware.

8. 8
   adj

   Used with no subject, indicating an unknown or unspecified agent; used in similar situations as the passive in English (the difference being that the theme in the English passive construction is the subject, while in the Celtic autonomous construction the theme is the object and there is no subject).

Etymology

From autonomy + -ous.