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 In the span of just two years, its shares have multiplied roughly tenfold, turning the company into a market darling and another visible symbol of Beijing's drive for technological self-reliance. Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2025 And Malcolm always talked about self-reliance, self- determination, and finally that clicked in my mind. Zak Cheney-Rice, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025 Modi earlier vowed self-reliance as well, pledging to defend his country’s interests. Afp, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2025 Regardless, what’s interesting here is that the tendency toward self-reliance in decision-making appears to be a human universal, not just a Western trait. New Atlas, 20 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for self-reliance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-reliance
Noun
  • The Athletic maintains full editorial independence.
    Data Skrive, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Despite the change, the country remains home to the longest-running civil war in the world since gaining its independence from the United Kingdom in 1948.
    Bart Jansen, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • To enable genuine team autonomy, start by defining clear roles and responsibilities to reduce founder dependency.
    Guy Peixoto, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Freelancers also enjoy project variety and autonomy.
    Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • At the same time, philosophies like Garveyism, which had emphasized separation, self-sufficiency, and building parallel Black institutions, declined in popularity.
    Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The giants of Silicon Valley have a lot in common with Laura Ingalls Wilder, who portrayed her life on the prairie as a triumph of self-sufficiency, barely mentioning that the government underwrote the railroads, provided the farmland and tided the family through rough winters.
    Binyamin Appelbaum, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 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 10 Sep. 2025.

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