Meaning & use

reliant

adjective·Academic

Depending on someone or something for support, help, or supply.

See it in a sentence

The small island nation is heavily reliant on tourism for most of its income.

As he recovered from surgery, he became briefly reliant on his daughter for daily tasks.

A note on using this word

Reliant is almost always followed by 'on' or 'upon' and describes ongoing dependence rather than a single instance of help.

Words with a similar meaning

dependentcontingent

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

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

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