# autonomy

Pronunciation: US say "aw-TAH-nuh-mee" /ɔˈtɑ.nə.mi/; UK say "aw-TON-uh-mee" /ɔːˈtɒn.ə.mi/

## Noun

1. The right or condition of governing oneself, and the freedom to act or function independently.
   - Simple: The freedom to govern yourself or make your own choices without others controlling you.
   - _The university values the autonomy of its researchers to pursue their own questions._
   - _Workers reported higher satisfaction when granted autonomy over their daily tasks._
2. The capacity to make an informed decision freely, without being forced or pressured by others.
   - Simple: The ability to make your own choices freely, with good information and no pressure from others.
   - _Informed consent rests on the patient's autonomy to accept or refuse care._
   - _Critics argued that relentless advertising can quietly undermine personal autonomy._
3. A country or region that governs itself and runs its own internal affairs.
   - Simple: A country or area that governs itself and makes its own decisions.
   - _The treaty recognized the mountainous district as an autonomy with limited self-rule._
   - _The federation is made up of several autonomies, each with its own assembly._
4. The capacity of a system to decide on its own actions without input from another system or a human operator.
   - Simple: The ability of a machine or system to act and decide on its own, without a person controlling it.
   - _The vehicle's autonomy allows it to navigate city streets without a driver._
   - _Designers increased the spacecraft's autonomy so it could correct its orbit without ground commands._
5. The status of a church that governs itself in most respects, while its highest-ranking bishop is appointed by the patriarch of the mother church.
   - Simple: The standing of a church that runs itself, though its top bishop is chosen by the head of its parent church.
   - _The synod debated whether to grant the regional church autonomy or full independence._
   - _Its autonomy meant the patriarch still confirmed each new metropolitan._

## Origin

Borrowed from Ancient Greek autonomia ('freedom to use one's own laws, independence'), from autonomos ('living under one's own laws, independent'). By surface analysis it is auto- ('self') plus -nomy ('a system of rules or laws').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/autonomy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).