reliant
Americanadjective
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having or showing dependence.
reliant on money from home.
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confident; trustful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reliant
Explanation
To be reliant is to depend on someone or something. When you're reliant on a person, you need that person. There are a lot ways people and things can be reliant. Kids are reliant on their parents for food and shelter. We're all reliant on the police to keep us safe, but the police are reliant on the government for funding. Being reliant is about being dependent. If you can do without something, you're not reliant on it. When you feel like you don't need other people, you can say you're self-reliant.
Vocabulary lists containing reliant
Catching Fire
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The World Is Flat
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Essential Question Vocabulary (Unit 2)
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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.
The U.S. is reliant on foreign capital, with overseas investors holding roughly 30% of government debt as well as significant amounts of corporate securities.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
Ireland are heavily reliant on Lewis and all-rounder Prendergast, and when the latter fell for 19 after Lewis' knock of 69, there was a worry that their solid platform would be wasted.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Rain was relatively steady, allowing agriculture to be far less reliant on irrigation, especially in central and northern Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
China remains able to buy Iranian crude, an important source of revenue for Tehran, via overland routes not reliant on the Strait of Hormuz.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Here are the top five “uncertainty avoidance” countries, according to Hofstede’s database—that is, the countries most reliant on rules and plans and most likely to stick to procedure regardless of circumstances.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
