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autonomy

autonomy

28 5.7
Freedom to make your own decisions and act independently
  • noun
  • /ɔːˈtɑːnəmi/
translation icon : autonomía
  • I think that was that's important for you as a person to have your own autonomy and say, OK, I've done this wrong.
  • personal autonomy
  • respect for autonomy
  • exercise autonomy

And I think having a sense of power and autonomy is pretty vital too.

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Examples

  • Having the autonomy to choose her own path in life has made her more confident.

  • Workers have lost so much, not just our afternoon naps and our holidays, but our autonomy, our dignity.

  • Let me allow my kids to practice some form of autonomy in the house.

  • Like when I think about the experience that I had, I had full autonomy in that situation, right?

  • And I think having a sense of power and autonomy is pretty vital too.

  • Allowing students to work at their own pace provided them autonomy for their progress.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I can have the stability and the security, but I can also have the freedom and the autonomy.

  • Neither side has been willing to give up much autonomy for the sake of cooperation.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In this company, we fully understand the importance of a woman's financial autonomy.

  • Because here, freedom and autonomy are the rights of all sentient beings.

Synonyms

freedom
vsautonomy
1.0

The right to act, speak, or think as you want without being stopped

is similar but adds emphasis on independent decision-making and collective governance
independence
vsautonomy
608 3.0

Freedom from control by others, for example when a country is free or a person supports themselves

adds specific emphasis on making one's own decisions and governing oneself
agency
vsautonomy
  • Formal
180 5.4

The ability to make your own choices and act

focuses on personal independence and making one's own decisions
sovereignty
vsautonomy
127 8.0

A country's right to govern itself without outside control

is about personal decision independence and smaller-scale self-rule
discretion
vsautonomy
96 5.1

Freedom to decide what to do in a situation

also includes general independence beyond granted decision authority
free will
vsautonomy
93 5.8

Ability to choose what you do without being controlled by outside forces

applies to practical independence in decisions and group governance too
self-determination
vsautonomy
  • Formal
34 4.3

The right of a group or nation to choose their government

is about the personal ability to decide independently rather than legal right
volition
vsautonomy
21 8.5

Choosing to do something by your own will without being forced

covers wider independence, including acting alone and governing oneself
self-reliance
vsautonomy
17 4.1

Being able to do things and meet needs without help from others

is focused more on deciding independently rather than providing for needs
free rein
vsautonomy
15 4.1

Freedom to act and make choices without someone controlling you

refers to ongoing independent decision-making rather than just permission to act
self-sufficiency
vsautonomy
14 5.6

Being able to meet your own needs without help from others

stresses decision-making independence rather than material self-provision
self-government
vsautonomy
12 4.3

A group or region that makes and follows its own rules without outside control

is similar but applies more to collective governance than individual decision-making
individual freedom
vsautonomy
10 3.5

The right to choose what to think and do without unfair control by others

also covers formal group self-government and wider independence
liberty
vsautonomy
9 3.2

The freedom to act, speak, or think without unnecessary restriction

is more about independent decision-making and the right to self-govern
self-rule
vsautonomy
8 5.8

Government by a country's own people instead of by a foreign power

focuses on personal decision independence rather than national governance
free hand
vsautonomy
5 4.1

The freedom to act or decide without being told what to do

means broader personal independence and governing oneself rather than temporary freedom
self-direction
vsautonomy
1 6.1

Being able to choose and control your own actions and learning

is wider, covering personal decision-making and group government
agentry
vsautonomy
  • Formal
9.0

The ability of people or groups to act freely and make their own choices

also includes governing oneself or groups rather than only acting
independency
vsautonomy
  • Archaic
5.6

Freedom from control by other people or groups

focuses more on ability to decide independently and to govern oneself

Antonyms

60 3.6

Needing another person or thing for help and control

Compounds

The right of local governments to make some decisions without the national government, like education and health

How Independent

sovereignty
127 8.0
autonomy
28 5.7
dependence
60 3.6

Surface Forms

autonomy singular
autonomies plural

Morphology

autonomy = auto + nom + y

The word is historically built from a learned classical formation meaning roughly 'self-rule', but the bound root is not transparent enough for an average B1 learner to reliably infer 'personal independence' from the parts.

Etymology

Autonomy comes from the Greek parts auto- ('self') and -nomy ('rule' or 'law'), the same -nomy you see in astronomy. So autonomy means 'self-rule' and is about being free to make your own choices.