independent:
(plural: ‘independents‘; pronunciation: the letter ‘i’ rhymes with the letter ‘i’ in “ink”)
an independent in his independent house
a person (or thing) that lives or works on his/her own – not dependent, i.e. does not take anybody’s support or help in the form of money, job, security, etc., not a dependent;
(in politics, and usually with a capital letter — Independent) a politician/candidate who does not always favour or join a political party but contests/stands in elections on his/her own;
a person who does not always favour the same political party, or who does not favour or support any party,
(in British English & always with a capital ‘i’) a person belonging to the Congregational Church,
Stephen Rollins, the 2012 American presidential election independent candidate
In 2008 US presidential election, Obama was from Democratic Party; John McCain was from Republican Party; Bob Barr, Libertarian Party; Cynthia Mckinney, Green Party; Charles Jay, Boston Tea Party; … but Ralph Nader was Independent (candidate), i.e. he did not belong to any Party.
Most of our staff is dependent on someone higher-up in getting protection and favours, but Charlie is an independent; he depends on his sincerity and efficiency.
Usually voters make themselves known as belonging to one major political party or the other, but there are some voters, a minority group, that are independents, which means they vote for a candidate not because he/she belongs to their favoured political party but because he/she has a good political track record.
