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

In recent years, Pandora has grappled with headwinds including sluggish demand across core markets, an overreliance on single product categories, and volatile precious metal input costs. — CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026

Your organization’s weaknesses may be structural, such as an overreliance on a single revenue stream. — Nancy Padberg, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

But her overreliance kicked into high gear as Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours took off. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026

Pandemic-era ridership changes, inflation and overreliance on fare-box revenues have pushed our transit system to the financial precipice. — Libby Schaaf, Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overreliance

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