Word Confusion: Independence versus Independents

Posted July 4, 2019 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
13 Jan 2023

Pinterest pin for Independence versus Independents

I confess. Independence vs independents is a word confusion, a pair of heterographs (a subset of homophone), to be exact. But I didn’t run across a mis-use in a book. It simply seemed so appropriate for our Fourth of July.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Independence	Independents
Electric Wheelchair Soccer by Percita is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — The use of electric wheelchairs means independence for these boys.	Lemonade Stand, 24 June 2011, by stevendepolo is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. — This young lady is but one of many independents throughout the city who are selling lemonade.
Part of Grammar:
Noun; Noun, proper Plural: independence	Morpheme: independent Adjective ¹; Noun ² Plural for noun: independents
Noun: The fact or state of being independent Noun, proper: [US; initial capital letter] A national holiday A city in West Missouri A town in Southeast Kansas	Adjective: Free from outside control ¹ Not depending on another’s authority [Of a country] Self-governing Not belonging to or supported by a political party [Of broadcasting, a school, etc.] Not supported by public funds [Historical; Independent] Congregational Not depending on another for livelihood or subsistence [Of income or resources] Making it unnecessary to earn one’s living Capable of thinking or acting for oneself Not influenced or affected by others Impartial Not connected with another or with each other Separate Not depending on something else for strength or effectiveness Freestanding [Mathematics; of one of a set of axioms, equations, or quantities] Incapable of being expressed in terms of, derived, or deduced from the others Noun: An independent person or body ² [Politics] An independent political candidate, voter, etc. [Historical; initial capital letter] A Congregationalist [British] A Congregationalist A small, privately owned business [Ecclesiastical; initial capital letter] An adherent of the principle that the individual congregation or church is an autonomous and equalitarian society free from any external ecclesiastical control
Examples:
Noun: The fact or state of being independent Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816. I’ve always valued my independence. Noun, proper: What are you doing for Independence Day this year? Independence, Missouri, was a point of departure for the California, Oregon, and Santa Fe Trails. The land on which Independence, Kansas, was settled was purchased from the Osage Indians in September 1869 for $50.	Adjective: The study is totally independent of central government. They’re Canada’s largest independent investment firm. India became independent in 1947. He was running as an Independent candidate. Independent schools are private schools that are overseen by a board of governors or trustees. Ancestry.com has an historical sketch of the Independent Congregational Church in Meadville, Pennsylvania, using an online database ranging between 1825 and 1900. I wanted to remain independent in old age. She was a woman of independent means. There’s a great site with advice for independent travelers. We need a thorough and independent investigation of the case. The legislature and the judicature are independent of each other. We need two independent witnesses to testify. An independent electric shower heats water in situ and eliminates the need for a hot water tank or for hot water storage. I want to prove each axiom is independent of others. Noun: Until 1995, the Interstate Commerce Commission was an independent regulatory agency to ensure fair rates, end rate discrimination, and regulate other aspects of common carriers. Katrina and her friends are all Independents. Each congregation of the Independent Congregational Church is independent and each independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. Paul votes as an Independent. The conglomerates are buying up the independents.
Derivatives:
Adjective: postindependence Noun: interindependence, preindependence, superindependence	Adjective: nonindependent, preindependent, pseudoindependent, quasi-independent, superindependent Adverb: independently, nonindependently, preindependently, pseudoindependently, quasi-independently, superindependently
History of the Word:
Mid-17th century, from independent, partly on the pattern of the French indépendance.	The 1610s, from the prefix in- meaning not, opposite of + dependent (adjective). The French indépendant is attested from c.1600 while the Italian independente from 1590s From 1808, as a noun, it means person not acting as part of a political party.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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