autonomous
[ aw-ton-uh-muh s ]
/ ɔˈtɒn ə məs /
adjective
Government.
- self-governing; independent; subject to its own laws only.
- pertaining to an autonomy, or a self-governing community.
having autonomy; not subject to control from outside; independent: a subsidiary that functioned as an autonomous unit.
(of a vehicle) navigated and maneuvered by a computer without a need for human control or intervention under a range of driving situations and conditions: an autonomous vehicle.
Biology.
- existing and functioning as an independent organism.
- growing naturally or spontaneously, without cultivation.
Origin of autonomous
1790–1800; < Greek
autónomos “with laws of one's own, independent,” equivalent to
auto-
auto-1 +
nóm(os) “law, custom” +
-os adj. suffix
OTHER WORDS FROM autonomous
au·ton·o·mous·ly, adverb non·au·ton·o·mous, adjective non·au·ton·o·mous·ly, adverb non·au·ton·o·mous·ness, nounWords nearby autonomous
Example sentences from the Web for autonomous
British Dictionary definitions for autonomous
autonomous
/ (ɔːˈtɒnəməs) /
adjective
(of a community, country, etc) possessing a large degree of self-government
of or relating to an autonomous community
independent of others
philosophy
- acting or able to act in accordance with rules and principles of one's own choosing
- (in the moral philosophy of Kant, of an individual's will) directed to duty rather than to some other endCompare heteronomous (def. 3) See also categorical imperative
biology
existing as an organism independent of other organisms or parts
a variant spelling of autonomic (def. 3)
Derived forms of autonomous
autonomously, adverbWord Origin for autonomous
C19: from Greek
autonomos living under one's own laws, from
auto- +
nomos law