Jump To:

• self-reliance
  self-reliance

  noun

  reliance on oneself or one's own powers, resources, etc.
• “Self-Reliance”
  “Self-Reliance”

  (1841) An essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson that advises the reader to “Trust thyself” and argues that “whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” It is the source of several well-known epigrams, such as “To be great is to be misunderstood” and “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

self-reliance

American  

[self-ri-lahy-uhns, self-] / ˈsɛlf rɪˈlaɪ əns, ˌsɛlf- /

noun

1. reliance on oneself or one's own powers, resources, etc.

---

self-reliance British  

noun

1. reliance on one's own abilities, decisions, etc

---

“Self-Reliance” Cultural  

1. (1841) An essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson that advises the reader to “Trust thyself” and argues that “whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” It is the source of several well-known epigrams, such as “To be great is to be misunderstood” and “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

---

Other Word Forms

• self-reliant
  adjective
• self-reliantly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of self-reliance

First recorded in 1825–35

Explanation

Self-reliance is a quality of depending on yourself for things instead of relying on others. You might decide to prove your self-reliance by hiking the Appalachian Train on your own. When people have self-reliance, they are independent and autonomous — in other words, they take care of themselves. Some of us develop self-reliance as children, when we start to prepare food for ourselves, take the bus alone, or in other ways exert our independence. The philosopher John Stuart Mill is credited with the first use of self-reliance, in an 1883 letter in which he described it as one important quality of "a free man."

Example Sentences

South Africa's health ministry responded by saying that though it had not been informed of this decision, it had "long been working on a self-reliance plan".

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

But we have always wanted to lead them to financial self-sufficiency and self-reliance, for them to work for a living, and for them to learn frugal habits.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 19, 2026

When the family moved from Ohio after his freshman year, Klugo’s self-reliance helped elevate the tennis team.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

Amid all the spending on technological self-reliance, China’s government has so far held back on large-scale economic stimulus that could help get people to spend more.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

These kids had just spent an hour telling me stories that were tragic and unsettling, but I reminded them that those same stories also showed their persistence, self-reliance, and ability to overcome.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• autonomy
• self-determination
• self-government
• self-rule
• self-sufficiency
• sovereignty