From autonomy +‎ -ous.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɔːˈtɒnəməs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɔˈtɑnəməs/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ɑˈtɑnəməs/
• Rhymes: -ɒnəməs

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: autonymous

autonomous (comparative more autonomous, superlative most autonomous)

1. Self-governing. Intelligent, sentient, self-aware, thinking, feeling, governing independently.

   Synonyms: sovereign, self-governing

2. Acting on one's own or independently; of a child, acting without being governed by parental or guardian rules.

   Synonyms: self-standing, self-directed

   • 2022 October 4, Soumya Karlamangla, “Behind the Story: Navigating San Francisco in a Driverless Car”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Though Cade has for years reported on the development of autonomous vehicles, test drives usually have so-called safety drivers who ride along and can take over in case something goes wrong.

3. (Celtic linguistics, of a verb form) Used with no subject, indicating an unknown or unspecified agent; used in similar situations as the passive in English (the difference being that the theme in the English passive construction is the subject, while in the Celtic autonomous construction the theme is the object and there is no subject).

• heteronomous

• autonomous area