interdependence
Americannoun
-
interdependences
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of interdependence
Explanation
Interdependence is mutual dependence between things. If you study biology, you’ll discover that there is a great deal of interdependence between plants and animals. Inter- means "between," so interdependence is dependence between things. We often use interdependence to describe complex systems. Marriage creates a state of interdependence between spouses. If your dog provides you with love and happiness, and you provide your dog with food and walks (and love and happiness), then your relationship with your dog is one of interdependence.
Vocabulary lists containing interdependence
Word Generation Science - Life Science
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Economics
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President Obama's Speech at Hiroshima
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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.
See Examples For:
As I see it, Kiki’s willingness to help others conveys a more important teaching about interdependence as an integral part of independence.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
In interdependence, we’re giving from our emotional overflow, and the love and care we receive in that reciprocity, for caring for the people in our lives, balances out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
‘In the box’ thinking gave us the kind of interdependence that’s causing a lot of our problems, especially on supply chains.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
For Beijing, its economy comes first - and it is this economic interdependence with countries across the region which gives it leverage and helps it project some influence.
From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026
Telling the time accurately was, of course, another big problem in the 1560s, long before the development of accurate clocks—one of the many examples of the interdependence of science and technology.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
That economic models ever ignored such obvious interdependences is troubling.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2021
In fact, only a moment ago, in alluding to the psychological interdependences, we had to emphasize the uniform sequence.
From International Congress of Arts and Science, Volume I Philosophy and Metaphysics by Various
In human society the family, with its characteristic differences and interdependences of the sexes and the age groups, husband and wife, children and parents, most nearly realizes this description of society.
From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Robert Ezra Park
He must copy, says Taine, the mutual relations and interdependences of the parts of his model.
From The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske
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.
