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.
He essentially said that Obergefell is safe because Americans have a reliance interest in it.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Samsung Group affiliate’s planned AI infrastructure capacity could be supported by computing demand from its parent conglomerate, reducing its reliance on large outside customers, Hong writes in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
These approaches could eventually offer mushroom growers additional tools for controlling bacterial blotch while reducing their reliance on conventional chemical treatments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
ICC officials are concerned about access to banking, credit card facilities, insurance, and especially technology, given a heavy reliance on US systems.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
You may attempt to defend your enervating use of the passive voice by pointing out that the only alternative is excessive reliance upon the first person personal pronoun or upon the pontifical We.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
