autonomous

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ɔˈːtɒnəməs/ 🇺🇸 /ɔˈtɑnəməs/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Having the freedom to govern oneself or control one's own affairs; self-governing; independent.; Acting independently or having the ability to do so; not controlled by others or by outside forces.; Of a vehicle, machine, or system, capable of operating without direct human control or intervention.; In philosophy, acting according to one's own moral law or rational will rather than external authority; self-legislating.; In biology or medicine, functioning independently of external regulation or control, especially referring to involuntary physiological processes.; In linguistics, existing or functioning independently of other elements; not dependent on a larger structure for interpretation.; In robotics and artificial intelligence, capable of making decisions and performing tasks without real-time human input.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more autonomous Superlative: most autonomous

Collocations

autonomous vehicleautonomous regionautonomous systemfully autonomousautonomous drivingautonomous decision

Derivatives

autonomyautonomouslyautonomistautonomic

Synonyms

independentself-governingself-rulingsovereignself-directedself-sufficient

Antonyms

dependentsubordinate

Commonly confused

autonomic
EN: 'Autonomic' refers specifically to involuntary bodily functions (e.g., the autonomic nervous system), while 'autonomous' means self-governing or independent in a broader sense.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the 'o' after 'aut-' (from Greek 'autos') and the '-ous' ending; do not confuse with 'autonomic' which has a different suffix and meaning.

💬 Examples

  1. The region became an autonomous territory with its own parliament and laws.

  2. She made an autonomous decision to leave the company and start her own business.

  3. The company is developing autonomous vehicles that can navigate city streets without a driver.

  4. Kant argued that a truly autonomous moral agent acts from duty rather than inclination.

  5. The autonomous nervous system regulates heart rate and digestion without conscious effort.

  6. An autonomous morpheme can stand alone as a word without needing to attach to another morpheme.

  7. The autonomous robot can map an unknown environment and plan its own path through it.