# autonomous

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɔːˈtɒnəməs/ · frequency rank #8,892

## Definitions
1. Self-governing. Intelligent, sentient, self-aware, thinking, feeling, governing independently.
2. Acting on one's own or independently; of a child, acting without being governed by parental or guardian rules.
3. 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).

## Etymology
From autonomy + -ous.

## Easily confused with
- **autonomously** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/autonomous-vs-autonomously)

## Common misspellings (13)
`atuonomous`, `auotnomous`, `autnoomous`, `autonmoous`, `autonnomous`, `autonommous`, `autonomosu`, `autonomouss`, `autonomuos`, `autonoomus`, `autoonmous`, `auttonomous`, `uatonomous`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/autonomous