as in independent
able to take care of oneself or itself without outside help
a surprisingly calm and self-reliant child
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Recent Examples of self-reliant
Anyone who visits should be prepared to be fully self-reliant, with extra food, water, and any necessary medications.
—
Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
Another source of pushback is the belief that China needs to be self-reliant use chips made by Chinese designers and manufacturers.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2025
The researchers found that, across all societies, self-reliant strategies (deliberation, especially, followed by intuition) were the most popular.
—New Atlas, 20 Aug. 2025
Private river frontage, creeks, springs, and senior water rights make the ranch entirely self-reliant—no outside feed required.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-reliant
Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
Another source of pushback is the belief that China needs to be self-reliant use chips made by Chinese designers and manufacturers.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2025
The researchers found that, across all societies, self-reliant strategies (deliberation, especially, followed by intuition) were the most popular.
—New Atlas, 20 Aug. 2025
Private river frontage, creeks, springs, and senior water rights make the ranch entirely self-reliant—no outside feed required.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-reliant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-reliant
independent
Adjective
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There aren’t many tours available, so an excursion to the castle is most likely going to be an independent adventure.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
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However, as China ruthlessly pursues independent innovation, domestic substitution of imports has become a policy priority to ensure tech self-sufficiency in critical industries.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-reliant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-reliant. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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