codependent

[koh-di-pen-duhnt]

adjective

1. of or relating to a relationship in which one person is physically or psychologically addicted, as to alcohol or gambling, and the other person is psychologically dependent on the first in an unhealthy way.

noun

1. one who is codependent or in a codependent relationship.

Other Word Forms

• codependency noun
• codependence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of codependent¹

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

As much as their codependent friendship brings them closer, when spoken to at the same time, Roman and Dennis always differ in their answers, evincing an underlying disconnect.

From Los Angeles Times

Badly wanting this to be different from my codependent and stifling marriage, I told myself his aloofness was a good thing.

From Los Angeles Times

But however fraught, or codependent their relationship was, Guibert says, it remained strong to the end.

From Los Angeles Times

And it’s when “Together” contemplates this very human desire to stay in an unstable environment for the sake of familiarity that the film becomes a deeply resonant review of codependent romance and all of the horrors it produces.

From Salon

The 10-episode Apple TV+ dramedy “will center on the codependent relationship between an 18-year-old actress in a hit kid’s show and her narcissistic mother who relishes in her identity as ‘a starlet’s mother,’” per the logline.

From Los Angeles Times