overreliance

noun

over·​re·​li·​ance ˌō-vər-ri-ˈlī-ən(t)s 

: the act or state of relying on something or someone too much : excessive reliance

One of my top priorities next year is to have an energy policy that begins to address all facets of our overreliance on fossil fuels.

—Barack Obama

I shy away from prescribing sleeping pills … to avoid overreliance on them.

—Andrew Weil

Examples of overreliance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, an overreliance on hard accountability might backfire. —Robin Daniels, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025

Critics also say political fears of exceeding the cap have triggered an overreliance on less-than-transparent accounting gimmicks that circumvent spending limits without officially breaking them. —Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 17 May 2025

And overreliance on ChatGPT can erode a student’s unique voice or style. —Jeanne Beatrix Law, The Conversation, 7 May 2025

There are folks who criticize overreliance on government, but in the case of African Americans, the promises made to Black communities were responses to previous wrongs. —Ken Makin, Christian Science Monitor, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overreliance

• appliance
• compliance
• defiance
• reliance
• geoscience
• neuroscience
• noncompliance
• pseudoscience
• science