Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Independent \In`de*pend"ent\, a. [Pref. in- not + dependent: cf.
   F. ind['e]pendant.]
   1. Not dependent; free; not subject to control by others; not
      relying on others; not subordinate; as, few men are wholly
      independent.

            A dry, but independent crust.         --Cowper.

   2. Affording a comfortable livelihood; as, an independent
      property.

   3. Not subject to bias or influence; not obsequious;
      self-directing; as, a man of an independent mind.

   4. Expressing or indicating the feeling of independence;
      free; easy; bold; unconstrained; as, an independent air or
      manner.

   5. Separate from; exclusive; irrespective.

            That obligation in general, under which we conceive
            ourselves bound to obey a law, independent of those
            resources which the law provides for its own
            enforcement.                          --R. P. Ward.

   6. (Eccl.) Belonging or pertaining to, or holding to the
      doctrines or methods of, the Independents.

   7. (Math.) Not dependent upon another quantity in respect to
      value or rate of variation; -- said of quantities or
      functions.

   8. (U. S. Politics) Not bound by party; exercising a free
      choice in voting with either or any party.

   {Independent company} (Mil.), one not incorporated in any
      regiment.

   {Independent seconds watch}, a stop watch having a second
      hand driven by a separate set of wheels, springs, etc.,
      for timing to a fraction of a second.

   {Independent variable}. (Math.) See {Dependent variable},
      under {Dependent}.

   Syn: Free; uncontrolled; separate; uncoerced; self-reliant;
        bold; unconstrained; unrestricted.

Independent \In`de*pend"ent\, n.
   1. (Eccl.) One who believes that an organized Christian
      church is complete in itself, competent to
      self-government, and independent of all ecclesiastical
      authority.

   Note: In England the name is often applied (commonly in the
         pl.) to the Congregationalists.

   2. (Politics) One who does not acknowledge an obligation to
      support a party's candidate under all circumstances; one
      who exercises liberty in voting.

Source : WordNet®

independent
     n 1: a neutral or uncommitted person (especially in politics)
          [syn: {mugwump}, {fencesitter}]
     2: a writer or artist who sells services to different employers
        without a long-term contract with any of them [syn: {freelance},
         {self-employed person}]

independent
     adj 1: free from external control and constraint; "an independent
            mind"; "a series of independent judgments"; "fiercely
            independent individualism"; "an independent republic"
            [ant: {dependent}]
     2: not dependent on or conditioned by or relative to anything
        else
     3: of political bodies; "an autonomous judiciary"; "a sovereign
        state" [syn: {autonomous}, {self-governing}, {sovereign}]
     4: not contingent
     5: of a clause; able to stand alone syntactically as a complete
        sentence; "the main (or independent) clause in a complex
        sentence has at least a subject and a verb" [syn: {main(a)}]
        [ant: {dependent}]
     6: not controlled by a party or interest group