as in independence
the ability to care for one's self some people don't achieve self-reliance until they're over 30 years old

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of self-reliance The external threat provides cover for the CCP’s ongoing economic reorientation and justifies the state’s push for greater self-reliance. Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 29 Apr. 2025 China uses these measures to protect domestic agriculture and control food supply chains to help achieve its broader strategy of ensuring food security and technological self-reliance. Garth Friesen, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025 President Trump wants peace, but also wants fair trade and more self-reliance for the American economy. Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Apr. 2025 Hence, a turn toward self-reliance, whether in the form of back-yard gardening or ruthless self-optimization that anticipates Darwinian competition amid crisis. Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for self-reliance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-reliance
Noun
  • The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage.
    Tyler Holzhammer, New York Times, 3 May 2025
  • In her ruling, Judge Howell framed the targeting of Perkins as an attack on the independence of the legal profession and the judicial system.
    Ryan Lucas, NPR, 3 May 2025
Noun
  • The chaser’s desire for closeness can overwhelm the spacer, who may feel emotionally suffocated or in need of autonomy.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
  • With the proliferation of gen-AI, ethical concerns toward its application have re-entered the spotlight, including issues of water and energy consumption/waste and artist alarm over creative autonomy and exploitation.
    Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 4 May 2025
Noun
  • With Mercury retrograde in your sign starting on the 15th, old fears around your self-sufficiency might be resurfacing.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 May 2025
  • To develop America first, protectionists turned inward, encouraged economic isolation, and touted the U.S. as the only nation capable of true economic self-sufficiency.
    Made by History, Time, 28 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Self-reliance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-reliance. Accessed 18 May. 2025.

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