autonomously

American  

[aw-ton-uh-muhs-lee] / ɔˈtɒn ə məs li /

adverb

1. in a way that is self-governing or free of outside control; independently.

   The ideal candidate will be able to work autonomously and without supervision.

2. with little or no human control or intervention.

   We have developed a service robot that operates autonomously, in concert with a network of devices in its environment.

3. Biology.

   1. as an independent organism.

      Viruses, on the boundary between living and nonliving, cannot autonomously reproduce but require the biochemistry and structure of a host cell.

   2. naturally or spontaneously, without cultivation.

      They organized a work day to get rid of the plants growing wildly, autonomously, and unwantedly all around the building.

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Other Word Forms

• nonautonomously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of autonomously

autonomous ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Additionally, SoundHound introduced its Oasys platform earlier this week, which it called “the world’s first self-learning orchestrated agentic AI platform,” referring to software that can handle tasks autonomously.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

UFORCE's land-based drones use software designed to assist with targeting, while Anduril says some of its systems can autonomously complete the final phase of an attack.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

That’s because as the industry moves towards agentic AI tools, which can complete tasks autonomously, more CPUs will be required to manage those increasingly complex operations.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 25, 2026

Tesla has said those vehicles, which were produced before 2024, had the computer and cameras necessary to drive autonomously once Tesla’s software became sophisticated enough.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

But a DNA double helix cannot autonomously make a copy of itself; otherwise, it might replicate without self-control.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• freely
• individually
• separately