reliance
Americannoun
-
confident or trustful dependence.
- Synonyms:
- assurance, faith, trust, confidence
-
something or someone relied on.
noun
-
dependence, confidence, or trust
-
something or someone upon which one relies
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reliance
Explanation
The word reliance is the noun form of the verb rely, which means to depend. Your reliance on the Internet for your information will be your undoing, if the power ever goes out. A person's reliance on something is their dependence on it. A mime's reliance on silence is the key to his performance: if he speaks, he'll be ruined. Your reliance on the kindness of strangers makes sense when you consider that you'll never run out of strangers upon whom to rely. Too bad you can't just lean on the folks that you know.
Vocabulary lists containing reliance
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 7
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Space
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"Rosa Parks" by Nikki Giovanni
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tools for Self Reliance, based in Netley Marsh, Hampshire, collects and refurbishes equipment no longer needed in the UK and sends it abroad to help fledgling businesses.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
And a joint venture between India's Reliance Industries, Canada's Brookfield and US firm Digital Realty is investing $11 billion to develop an AI data centre in the same city.
From Barron's • Feb. 15, 2026
Steel Dynamics fell 3.9%, Nucor dropped 3%, Reliance declined 2.1%, and Cleveland-Cliffs was down 3.4%.
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
The 2026 season is the MI London's first since Reliance Industries Limited bought a 49% share of the franchise.
From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026
The Reliance floated, but the Lion was immoveable, and Lieutenant Back dropping astern again made his boat fast to the Lion by a rope.
From Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea by Franklin, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
