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as in independence
the state of being free from the control or power of another finding the mother country's treatment of them oppressive and intolerable, the 13 British colonies made the momentous decision to seek autonomy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of autonomy Jonas said the alerts are meant to give parents enough knowledge about a potentially harmful situation to have a conversation with their teenager while still respecting the child’s privacy and autonomy. Bloomberg, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025 However, The BlackSea MASC shows what can be done when autonomy is fully embraced. New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2025 The states that ranked at the bottom of the index—including Louisiana, Nevada, Florida, Alaska and Arizona—have high pupil-teacher ratios, lower retention rates, and limited teacher autonomy. Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025 Mission Master family and autonomy The defense technology company’s Mission Master line covers several UGV sizes and mission sets. Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for autonomy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autonomy
Noun
  • The company released a more expensive version of its subscription-fee offering in the EU in 2023, but was slapped with a €200 million ($232 million) fine in April after regulators argued the model still breached the bloc’s digital antitrust rules and didn’t offer users a genuine free choice.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Since then, what counts as a good (virtuous) choice versus a bad (unvirtuous) one has become less and less clearly defined.
    Sophia Rosenfeld September 26, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The movement looked to achieve independence through an armed revolution.
    Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Before long, a media holding company of the Russian state energy giant Gazprom took a majority stake in the channel, ending its independence and giving the Kremlin decisive influence over its editorial policy.
    Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Their emergency request for a temporary restraining order (TRO), filed September 29, argues that the administration has exceeded its legal authority and jeopardized both state sovereignty and public safety.
    Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Beginning with the Haitian internment in 1991, Washington seized on Guantánamo’s ambiguous sovereignty to illegally and indefinitely detain asylum-seekers.
    Miriam Pensack, The Dial, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Where Godard and his collaborators exulted in their freedom, Linklater was intent on painstaking accuracy.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2025
  • For director and co-writer Shinsuke Sato, a third season that moved beyond the main action of the manga allowed for greater freedom to explore the questions provoked by this Borderland reveal.
    Kayti Burt, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • This visit was very important signal for our partners that Kyiv, much more safety right now, and also very important signal that Great Britain stay together with Ukraine, support Ukraine -- support our country in the fight for our freedom, for our independency.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2022
  • Yet the careful reader will appreciate the significance of the Puritan Cromwell’s independency.
    Barton Swaim, WSJ, 27 Dec. 2021

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Cite this Entry

“Autonomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autonomy. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

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