✅ Freedom refers to being free from the control of someone or something, or to the power to follow your own goals or desires (They had newfound freedom after their children moved away).

✅ Independence is the best word to refer to being free from other people’s influence, or to being self-sufficient (She liked having her independence).

✅ Freedom and independence can be used interchangeably, especially in the context of no longer being under someone else’s control (I gained my independence after leaving home; I had more freedom once I was earning my own money).

✅ One key difference is that freedom emphasizes the opportunity to express yourself or what you want (freedom of expression; freedom of choice), and independence emphasizes self-sufficiency and freedom from influence or pressure (The country celebrated their independence from the French).

Demonstrate how self-sufficient you are with these synonyms for independence!

✅ Demand refers to asking for something in an urgent, bold, or sternly authoritative way (They demanded action).

✅ Require refers to asking for something that is necessary, or to compel something to happen (The town requires all pet vaccinations to be up to date).

✅ Require and demand both imply that the person asking is doing so in an authoritative way.

✅ Demand often implies an aggressive, particularly stern authority (We demand respect!), whereas require implies an equally firm but less outwardly aggressive authority (There are several areas of the proposal that require your attention).

We won’t demand that you look at these synonyms for require, but we hope you do!

✅ Stream can refer to an actual body of water that is smaller than a river and follows a course (I crossed the stream carefully).

✅ Current can refer to the flow of a river or to the flow of a section of water in a larger body like the ocean (The current swept the debris away).

✅ Stream and current are synonymous when referring to a flow of liquid or a similar flow, figurative or physical (a stream of blood; a stream of visitors; shifting wind currents; intellectual currents of the period).

Try using current in a sentence about the ocean with the help of Grammar Coach.