Adjacent Words

Autonomy definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AUTON'OMY, n. [Gr. self, and law, rule.]
This word is rarely used. It signifies the power or right of self government, whether in a city which elects its own magistrates and makes its own laws, or in an individual who lives according to his own will.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence [syn: autonomy, liberty]
2: personal independence [syn: autonomy, self-direction, self-reliance, self-sufficiency]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -mies) Date: circa 1623 1. the quality or state of being self-governing; especially the right of self-government 2. self-directing freedom and especially moral independence 3. a self-governing state

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 the right of self-government. 2 personal freedom. 3 freedom of the will. 4 a self-governing community. Derivatives: autonomist n. Etymology: Gk autonomia f. autos self + nomos law

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Autonomy Au*ton"o*my, n. [Gr. ?: cf. F. autonomie. See Autonomous.] 1. The power or right of self-government; self-government, or political independence, of a city or a state. 2. (Metaph.) The sovereignty of reason in the sphere of morals; or man's power, as possessed of reason, to give law to himself. In this, according to Kant, consist the true nature and only possible proof of liberty. --Fleming.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Autonomy is the control or government of a country, organization, or group by itself rather than by others. Activists stepped up their demands for local autonomy last month. = independence 2. Autonomy is the ability to make your own decisions about what to do rather than being influenced by someone else or told what to do. (FORMAL) Each of the area managers enjoys considerable autonomy in the running of his own area. = independence

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Self-government, independence, self-legislation.

Moby Thesaurus

Declaration of Independence, absolute monarchy, aristocracy, autarchy, autarky, autocracy, autonomousness, coalition government, colonialism, commonwealth, constitutional government, constitutional monarchy, democracy, dictatorship, dominion rule, duarchy, duumvirate, dyarchy, federal government, federation, feudal system, free will, garrison state, gerontocracy, gratuitousness, heteronomy, hierarchy, hierocracy, home rule, independence, individualism, inner-direction, limited monarchy, martial law, meritocracy, militarism, military government, mob rule, mobocracy, monarchy, neocolonialism, ochlocracy, oligarchy, pantisocracy, patriarchate, patriarchy, police state, pure democracy, regency, representative democracy, representative government, republic, rugged individualism, self-action, self-activity, self-containment, self-determination, self-direction, self-government, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, social democracy, spontaneity, spontaneousness, stratocracy, technocracy, thearchy, theocracy, totalitarian government, totalitarian regime, triarchy, triumvirate, tyranny, unforcedness, voluntariness, voluntarism, voluntaryism, volunteer, volunteering, welfare state