dependence

American  

[dih-pen-duhns] / dɪˈpɛn dəns /

Or dependance

noun

dependences plural

1. the state of relying on or needing someone or something for aid, support, or the like.

2. reliance; confidence; trust.

   Her complete reliability earned her our dependence.

3. an object of reliance or trust.

4. the state of being conditional or contingent on something, as through a natural or logical sequence.

   the dependence of an effect upon a cause.

5. the state of being psychologically or physiologically dependent on a drug after a prolonged period of use.

6. subordination or subjection.

   the dependence of Martinique upon France.

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dependence British  

/ dɪˈpɛndəns /

noun

1. the state or fact of being dependent, esp for support or help

2. reliance; trust; confidence

3. rare an object or person relied upon

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondependance
  noun
• nondependence
  noun
• overdependence
  noun
• predependence
  noun
• self-dependence
  noun
• semidependence
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dependences
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dependence

1400–50; late Middle English dependaunce < Old French dependance, equivalent to depend ( re ) ( see depend) + -ance -ence

Explanation

Dependence is a state where someone is heavily reliant on someone or something else. This could mean the dependence of children on parents or an addict on a drug. Since to depend on someone is to need them, dependence is a state or condition of strong need. There are many kinds of dependence: a dog is in a state of dependence with his master. This word is also often used for drug and alcohol dependence, which is known as addiction. Dependence a strong word for extreme needs: liking something, like chocolate, isn't really dependence. The opposite of dependence is independence: being self-reliant and not needing others.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dependence dependences

"This is something historic, we've had a border fence since 1908," says Juan Franco, the mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, who is keen to underline the local economic dependence on the British territory.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Among the most significant discoveries was that small cell cancers from different organs all shared a strong dependence on E2F3.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 4, 2026

But necessity is also the mother of invention, and there are growing signs that the tech industry is hard at work on ways to reduce future dependence on the volatile component.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

The move aims to reduce OpenAI’s dependence on Nvidia and lower costs, aligning with peers like Alphabet and Amazon.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

I suppose it is his dependence upon me that has made me bold at last.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

A breakdown of the properties registered overseas shows they went to a total of 44 different countries or crown dependences, including Russia and the Cayman Islands.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

Here, though, the men’s relationship, with its kindness, virtues and mutual dependences, also offers a vision of an American dream not yet wholly corrupted by unbridled self-interest.

From New York Times ● Sep. 26, 2019

Hence arises the various modes, states, circumstances, conditions and situations in beings and things: also their different properties, relations and dependences.

From A Series of Letters in Defence of Divine Revelation by Ballou, Hosea

I shall take for granted that you have a fairly plain idea of the stomach and its dependences.

From The Easiest Way in Housekeeping and Cooking Adapted to Domestic Use or Study in Classes by Campbell, Helen

Nor does the mind, that sees the necessary dependences and connexions that one cause has with another, think it possible that it should be itself confined to the shortness of this life.

From The Academic Questions, Treatise De Finibus, and Tusculan Disputations, of M.T. Cicero, With a Sketch of the Greek Philosophers Mentioned by Cicero by Yonge, Charles Duke

Related Words

• confidence
• dependency