interdependent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of interdependent
Explanation
When objects or people are interdependent, they come to rely on each other for survival. As business becomes more and more international, the world is increasingly interdependent, with countries needing each other's help to survive. Interdependent comes from the Latin word inter meaning "among, between," and dependere which means "to hang from, be dependent on." When two people are interdependent, they have a sense of dependency between them. Married couples are often interdependent. They rely on one another — whether for income or child care or love — to get by.
Vocabulary lists containing interdependent
Life Science: Ecosystems
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Ecology - Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems - Introductory
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Ecology - Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems - Middle School and High School
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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.
By what precise mechanisms they communicate, and whether their arboreal exchanges are interdependent or competitive, remains contested.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Another limitation is that VBayesMM treats bacteria as independent actors, even though they often interact in complex, interdependent networks.
From Science Daily • Nov. 10, 2025
"What this episode has highlighted is just how interdependent our infrastructure is," said Prof Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey.
From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025
The theory ignores the fact that federal powers are both separate and interdependent, as well as the importance of checks and balances within the government.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2025
They are, by and large, indispensable to each other, living in interdependent communities in the soil or sea.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
