heteronomy means the political subjection of a community to the rule of another power or to an external law. It carries an Arena rating of 1356, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, heteronomy ranks #476 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #2,166 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #3,589 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #5,382 of 17,151 for The Improbable.
Why “heteronomy” is a great word
Heteronomy is the state of being governed by an external law or authority, rather than by one's own will. From Greek hetero- ('other, different') + -nomy (from nomos, 'law'), it was first recorded in English in the late 18th century. Unlike autonomy, which denotes the self as its own lawgiver, or sovereignty, which emphasizes supreme and independent power, heteronomy is the condition of subordination. It is the factory whistle segmenting a life into shifts, the architectural grid imposed upon a wild landscape, the patient's unquestioning acceptance of a diagnosis—the quiet, constant pressure of an order not your own, a life shaped by the shadow of another's law.
Etymology
From hetero- + -nomy.
noun
- The political subjection of a community to the rule of another power or to an external law.
- The state of being beholden to external influences.
- The condition of being heteronomous.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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