dependence

American  

[dih-pen-duhns] / dɪˈpɛn dəns /

Or dependance

noun

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

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

Etymology

Origin of dependence

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

Example Sentences

And yet for some reason it is dependence, not adulthood, he feels.

From Literature

He would not answer his mother’s call, for that would have been a sign of dependence.

From Literature

The generation after Galileo had to acknowledge its dependence on Evidence-Indices and so, willy-nilly, it had to adopt the virtues of the judiciary.

From Literature

It was this dependence that made Aedes aegypti the perfect creature to carry yellow fever into Philadelphia in 1793.

From Literature

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

From Literature

Related Words

• confidence
• dependency