reliance

noun

re·​li·​ance ri-ˈlī-ən(t)s 

1

: the act of relying : the state of being reliant

2

: something or someone relied on

Synonyms

• anchor
• dependance
• backbone
• dependence
• pillar
• crutch

Examples of reliance in a Sentence

he's been the family's foremost reliance in times of trouble many times

a baby's reliance on her parents

Recent Examples on the Web

The mass deployment of technologies that these minerals make possible—fleets of electric cars; flocks of wind turbines; a cleaner energy grid—may be imperative if our society is to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and thereby avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change. —Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025

For example, a refinery on Taiwan’s western coast owned by Formosa Petrochemical, increased its reliance on Russian naphtha from 9% before the invasion to 90% in the first six months of 2025. —John Liu, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025

Taiwan imports 95 percent of its energy and has a growing reliance on natural gas. —Yu-Tzu Chiu, IEEE Spectrum, 2 Oct. 2025

The move quickly drew scrutiny from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which questioned Ford’s reliance on Chinese technology, minerals and workers. —Rebecca A. Fannin, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing reliance

• self-reliance

Rhymes for reliance

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

Kids Definition

reliance

noun

re·​li·​ance ri-ˈlī-ən(t)s 

1

: the act of relying

2

: the condition or attitude of one who relies : dependence

3

: something or someone relied on

Legal Definition

reliance

noun

re·​li·​ance ri-ˈlī-əns 

1

: the act of relying

reliance on a promise

2

: reliance interest at interest 1