reliant
Americanadjective
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having or showing dependence.
reliant on money from home.
-
confident; trustful.
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Continuing a recent pattern, the gains were heavily reliant on hiring in the education and health fields, which added 57,000 new jobs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
But the impact wouldn’t be confined to those countries most reliant on the Gulf for their energy supplies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
While Taiwan has its own defence industry, it remains heavily reliant on the United States for weapons to deter a potential attack by China.
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
It means that the market becomes more reliant on fewer companies doing well.
From MarketWatch • May 31, 2026
Dear Dr. Schmidt, in my session with Nicole Castro tonight, I learned that you are concerned she is overly reliant on her mother.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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.
