What does autonomous mean?
Word: Autonomous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Autonomous means able to make decisions and run its own affairs without outside control.
Synonyms: self-governing
How do you spell autonomous?
Syllables: au - ton - o - mous
Tricky part: The vowel before the m is an o, the same as the one before the n, yet pupils often write autonamous.
Watch out for: autonamous, autonemous
Memory tip: Give a robot an O-shaped head and walk it in front of an M: only O goes before the m.
Autonomous in a sentence
Example 1: Our school library runs as an autonomous unit with its own budget.
Example 2: Autonomous delivery drones are being tested in several cities.
Example 3: Aisha is an autonomous learner who plans her own revision.
Fun Fact
The word comes from two Greek words meaning self and law, so an autonomous body is one that lives by its own laws.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
a_tonom_us
a) o, u
b) o, o
c) u, e
d) u, o
Show answer
d) u, o. The word opens like autumn and closes with the familiar -ous.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word autonomous as used in the sentence:
Many colleges are autonomous and set their own question papers.
a) subordinate
b) independent
c) dependent
d) prosperous
Show answer
b) independent. An independent college decides for itself; dependent and subordinate say the reverse, and prosperous is about money.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The robot vacuum is fully umaountsoo and cleans the floor without any help.
a) analogous
b) autonomous
c) ambiguous
d) anonymous
Show answer
b) autonomous. The t in the jumble is missing from the other three.
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix ly to make a real adverb. Choose it.
ly
a) biscuit
b) umbrella
c) autonomous
d) ceiling
Show answer
c) autonomous. Autonomous + ly gives an adverb; umbrella, biscuit and ceiling are nouns with no such form.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An autonomous robot differs from a remote-controlled toy because it ____.
a) chooses its next move with no human at the controls
b) is made from stronger plastic and metal
c) needs batteries to keep on running
d) has to be charged every night
Show answer
a) chooses its next move with no human at the controls
2. When a region of a country is called autonomous, it most likely ____.
a) is the largest region of the country
b) has very few people living in it
c) can make many of its own local laws
d) lies a long way from the sea
Show answer
c) can make many of its own local laws
