Independent and strong at the outset, spurning objections (3)
I believe the answer is:
ifs
'objections' is the definition.
(as in 'no ifs, no buts')
'independent and strong at the outset spurning' is the wordplay.
'independent' becomes 'i'.
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'strong' becomes 'f' (musical symbol for 'forte', 'strong' in Italian).
'at the outset' says to take the initial letters (the outset is the beginning).
The initial letter of 'spurning' is 's'.
'i'+'f'+'s'='IFS'
(Other definitions for ifs that I've seen before include "Conditional conjunctions" , "If . . . and ands were pots and pans" , "Conditions or suppositions, may join with buts" , "Suppositions, may be accompanied by buts" , "No ...,ands or buts, no argument allowed" .)