as in to depend
to place reliance or trust
rigorously tested the rope before starting out, for the rock climbers would be relying on it with their very lives
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Recent Examples of rely
To make the discovery, NASA Perseverance relied on its SuperCam instrument — a sophisticated system equipped with two lasers and cameras.
—
Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2026
Instead of relying solely on batteries, the fuel cell generated electricity onboard during the mission.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Apr. 2026
Authorities relied heavily on data obtained from Google under a geofence warrant that placed Chatrie's cellphone within 150 meters of the bank during the crime.
—Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The best Korean shampoos are finally easy to get your hands on—no more relying on a friend’s suitcase or booking a 16-hour flight, as many are now readily available on Amazon.
—Iman Balagam, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rely
Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2026
Instead of relying solely on batteries, the fuel cell generated electricity onboard during the mission.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Apr. 2026
Authorities relied heavily on data obtained from Google under a geofence warrant that placed Chatrie's cellphone within 150 meters of the bank during the crime.
—Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The best Korean shampoos are finally easy to get your hands on—no more relying on a friend’s suitcase or booking a 16-hour flight, as many are now readily available on Amazon.
—Iman Balagam, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rely
Verb
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The way coffee interacts with adenosine and cortisol is really complex, and can differ from person to person, depending on their biology, circumstances, and environment.—
Teresa Maalouf,
Verywell Health,
29 Apr. 2026
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Treatment frequency typically depends on your starting point and your specific biology.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Suddenly, the 107 points and the 113 goals garnered over the first 45 league games of a quite remarkable season were going to count for nothing, save for a tilt at the same play-offs that had proved to be the graveyard of their promotion hopes in the semi-finals a year ago.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Unlike preseason basketball, Bazzell pointed out, Unrivaled’s road stops feature games that count.—
Alexa Stone,
Kansas City Star,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rely. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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