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definitions

dependent

or de·pend·ant

[dih-pen-duh nt]
See more synonyms for dependent on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. relying on someone or something else for aid, support, etc.
  2. conditioned or determined by something else; contingent: Our trip is dependent on the weather.
  3. subordinate; subject: a dependent territory.
  4. Grammar. not used in isolation; used only in connection with other forms. In I walked out when the bell rang, when the bell rang is a dependent clause.Compare independent(def 14), main1(def 4).
  5. hanging down; pendent.
  6. Mathematics.
    1. (of a variable) having values determined by one or more independent variables.
    2. (of an equation) having solutions that are identical to those of another equation or to those of a set of equations.
  7. Statistics. (of an event or a value) not statistically independent.
noun
  1. a person who depends on or needs someone or something for aid, support, favor, etc.
  2. a child, spouse, parent, or certain other relative to whom one contributes all or a major amount of necessary financial support: She listed two dependents on her income-tax form.
  3. Archaic. a subordinate part.

Origin of dependent

First recorded in 1375–1425, dependent is from the late Middle English word dependaunt. See depend, -ent
Related formsde·pend·ent·ly, adverbo·ver·de·pend·ent, adjectivepre·de·pend·ent, adjectivequa·si-de·pend·ent, adjectivequa·si-de·pend·ent·ly, adverbself-de·pend·ent, adjectiveself-de·pend·ent·ly, adverbsem·i·de·pend·ent, adjectivesem·i·de·pend·ent·ly, adverbun·de·pend·ent, adjective
Can be confuseddependant dependent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dependent

poor, defenseless, vulnerable, reliant, susceptible, conditional, subordinate, inferior, minor, secondary, relative, reckoning, clinging, debased, immature, indigent, lesser, under, humbled

Examples from the Web for dependent

Contemporary Examples of dependent

Historical Examples of dependent

British Dictionary definitions for dependent

dependent

sometimes US dependant

adjective
  1. depending on a person or thing for aid, support, life, etc
  2. (postpositive; foll by on or upon) influenced or conditioned (by); contingent (on)
  3. subordinate; subjecta dependent prince
  4. obsolete hanging down
  5. maths
    1. (of a variable) having a value depending on that assumed by a related independent variable
    2. (of a linear equation) having every solution as a solution of one or more given linear equations
noun
  1. grammar an element in a phrase or clause that is not the governor
  2. a variant spelling (esp US) of dependant
Derived Formsdependently, adverb

confusable

Avoid confusion with dependant
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for dependent

15c., variant spelling of dependant, now mostly restricted to adjectival use; see -ance. Dependent variable in mathematics is recorded from 1852.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
dependent in Medicine

dependent

[dĭ-pĕn′dənt]
adj.
  1. Contingent on or subordinate to another.
  2. Relying on or requiring the aid of another for support.
  3. Hanging down.
n.
  1. One who relies on another especially for financial support.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.