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.
Reliant on imports, Iran also faces a gasoline crisis—which is politically combustible.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Reliant on old maps and with limited communications back to their high command, the Russian units frequently became paralysed by indecision.
From BBC • Feb. 22, 2023
In a tweet Friday afternoon, Reliant Energy, which serves more than 1.5 million people across Texas, asked its customers to conserve energy by limiting the use of large appliances.
From Salon • Dec. 25, 2022
“I never had the opportunity to go play in Reliant as a kid, now known as NRG,” he said.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 2, 2022
Reliant on Night, confiding in Solitude, I kept my tears sealed, my sobs chained, no longer; they heaved my heart; they tore their way.
From Villette by Brontë, Charlotte
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.
