Meaning & use

reliance

noun·Academic

Dependence on or trust in someone or something for support, help, or supply.

See it in a sentence

The village's reliance on a single well became a serious problem during the drought.

Her growing reliance on her older sister worried their parents a little.

A note on using this word

Reliance is usually followed by on or upon, as in reliance on technology.

Words with a similar meaning

dependencetrust

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

independenceself-sufficiency

Make it your own

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