mindmap root((独立)) free stresses the complete absence of external control and the full right to make all of one's own decisions: you are ~ to do as you like. independent implies a standing alone; applied to a state it implies lack of connection with any other having power to interfere with its citizens, laws, or policies: the struggle for Ireland to become ~. autonomous stresses independence combined with freedom; or, applied politically, independence in matters pertaining to self-government: the establishment of ~ school districts. sovereign stresses the absence of a superior or dominant power and implies supremacy within one's own domain or sphere: a ~ nation not subject to the laws of another.