reliance

[ri-lahy-uhns]

noun

1. confident or trustful dependence.

   Synonyms: assurance, faith, trust, confidence

2. confidence.

3. something or someone relied on.

reliance

/ rɪˈlaɪəns /

noun

1. dependence, confidence, or trust

2. something or someone upon which one relies

Other Word Forms

• misreliance noun
• nonreliance noun
• overreliance noun
• superreliance noun
• reliant adjective
• reliantly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of reliance¹

First recorded in 1600–10; rely + -ance

Example Sentences

Exports to countries other than the U.S. also weakened for a third straight month, even as Ottawa has pushed to pivot the country away from a reliance on the massive U.S. market.

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The new rules signal China is tightening its stranglehold on key industrial bases and technologies as the U.S. and other Western countries aim to build up domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on China.

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Seeking ways to reduce U.S. farmers’ reliance on China, Kindred has traveled to Vietnam and the Philippines to try to persuade their livestock farmers to buy more American soybeans.

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A search warrant shows the initial target of the raid was four Hispanic workers, but the effect was a global spotlight on the plant’s reliance on Korean labor.

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Indian outsourcing firms say they have scaled back their reliance on H-1Bs and have sought to train and hire more Americans.

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Related Words

• dependence