reliant
Americanadjective
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having or showing dependence.
reliant on money from home.
-
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.
Most eurozone economies are in better shape than in 2010 and are less reliant on foreign funding, reducing the likelihood of severe contagion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
"We're completely reliant on the air ambulance being able to help us, whether you're a farmer, a local resident, or someone visiting," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Nearly a quarter of Wales lacks 4G coverage from every mobile network operator, according to Ofcom, external - leaving some communities reliant on masts hosted by farmers and landowners.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Ukraine’s stocks of munitions for the F-16s also dried up several months ago, and pilots are reliant on the planes to shoot down the jet-powered drones currently pummeling Ukraine, air-defense officers in the country say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 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
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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.
