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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of rely
The team also revealed that while engineers are pursuing a range of technologies to develop qubits, the Princeton version relies on a type of circuit called a transmon qubit.
—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2025
Additionally, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are the workhorse boosters NASA often relies on to get spacecraft and astronauts off the ground.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
The scene illustrated a transformation within Habitat for Humanity, which has since the 1970s relied on community members to help construct homes from their foundations to the roofs.
—Addie Costello, jsonline.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Roschon Johnson has also missed time with a back injury, pushing the Bears to rely solely on rookie RB Kyle Monangai, who carried the load with 26 rush attempts for 176 yards.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rely
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2025
Additionally, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are the workhorse boosters NASA often relies on to get spacecraft and astronauts off the ground.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
The scene illustrated a transformation within Habitat for Humanity, which has since the 1970s relied on community members to help construct homes from their foundations to the roofs.
—Addie Costello, jsonline.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Roschon Johnson has also missed time with a back injury, pushing the Bears to rely solely on rookie RB Kyle Monangai, who carried the load with 26 rush attempts for 176 yards.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rely
Verb
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Oxygen produces green or red depending on the altitude, and nitrogen either blue or purple.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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But this is still a flawed team in a lot of ways, depending heavily on Jackson staying healthy and being at his best every Sunday.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Barton will have to wait another month to receive his sentence for the six guilty counts the jury returned on charges of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety to football broadcasters Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, and TV and radio host Jeremy Vine.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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That’s great news for collectors, many of whom count this Third Growth Margaux among their favorite bottles.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rely. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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