as in independence
the ability to care for one's self
encouraged her children to develop self-dependence at a relatively early age a level of self-dependence rarely seen in teens
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Recent Examples of self-dependence
As Locke put it in his essay, this was a period of renewal, of self-respect, and of self-dependence among Black people.
—
Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Feb. 2024
Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-dependence
Noun
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These include emotional regulation, giving and receiving feedback, independence and teamwork.—
Erick Trevino,
AZCentral.com,
18 Feb. 2026
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Like Fed officials who vote on interest-rate decisions, researchers at the 12 regional banks and Board of Governors go to great lengths to establish independence from outside political actors.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That impetus brought Lance Hammer back out of the woodwork, a gauntlet thrown to himself to think through problematic contradictions involving the quite different — and often sparring — human verticals of capability, autonomy, and decline.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
18 Feb. 2026
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Navigating such thorny topics as consent and autonomy in the throes of dementia, the film is relentless in its exploration of impossible-to-answer questions, and uses, as its vessel, three sensational performers who make its drama both luminous and entirely devastating.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-dependence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-dependence. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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