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

This cohort will need to know how to apply the technologies, in addition to developing an awareness of the risks — including the risk of overreliance on AI and not sufficiently applying their own judgment. —Hanne Jesca Bax, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025

Once considered a cornerstone of learning, the ability to analyze, evaluate, and discern information has been replaced by an overreliance on quick answers. —Sixteen Ramos, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025

Striking this balance prevents overreliance while still creating efficiency. —Karpagam Narayanan, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

The Dalai Lama, aware of his people’s overreliance on his personal leadership, began democratizing his government in the 1960s. —Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overreliance

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