autonomy
aw-TON-uh-meenounMeaning the freedom to govern yourself or make your own choices
Memory hook AUTO = SELF: you set your own rules. On her birthday, Maya gets her own key and her own schedule: she decides where to go and when. She has autonomy.
At college, Maya enjoyed the autonomy of planning her own days.
In context The branch library was granted more autonomy; instead of waiting for orders from the main office, its staff could now choose their own books and hours.
Similar independence, self-rule, self-government, freedom
Opposite dependence, control, subjection
From Greek autonomia, “independence”: autos (self) + nomos (law).