reliance

noun

ri-ˈlī-ən(t)s How to pronounce reliance (audio)
Definition of reliancenext
1
as in anchor
something or someone to which one looks for support he's been the family's foremost reliance in times of trouble many times

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in dependency
the quality or state of needing something or someone a baby's reliance on her parents his reliance on his next-door neighbor for all the local gossip

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 reliance The investment also reflects a broader push across Europe to expand domestic chip manufacturing and reduce reliance on overseas production for strategically important technologies. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 July 2026 The initiative underscores Spain’s growing immigrant population — now one in five residents — and its reliance on Latin American and African workers in agriculture, tourism and service industries. — Suman Naishadham, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 Opponents, made up of public school advocates and the Missouri State Teachers Association, argued that the accountability systems are punitive and that the reliance on growth creates a moving target that would be hard to maintain. — Jack Harvel july 2, Kansas City Star, 2 July 2026 McGraw Hill Higher Education cites a study by Gerlich (2025) at SBS Swiss Business School that reveals an over-reliance on AI tools is eroding critical thinking abilities. — Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for reliance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reliance
  1. anchor
  2. dependency
  3. backbone
  4. dependence
  5. pillar
Noun
  • She has also been spotted working as a substitute anchor for various personnel, particularly on weekends.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 1 July 2026
  • With a fresh margarita in hand, Josef launches into a 70-minute monologue about his Life and Times, which carries on past Nathan’s anchor-watch shift and into Coop’s.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 30 June 2026
Definition of anchor
Noun
  • Domestic recycling from secondary sources represents one pathway to reduce that dependency.
    — Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 30 June 2026
  • For incident response agents, this means producing an investigation trail with relevant alerts, logs, metrics, deployment and infrastructure events, and dependencies.
    — Raman Varma, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of dependency
Noun
  • Building a century of infrastructure What Bucyrus built in South Milwaukee fanned out across the country, shaping the backbone of modern America.
    — Malika Bowling, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Brut Champagne gives the drink its backbone—its acidity stays crisp against the other players, keeping the drink focused and bright.
    — Joe Sevier, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 July 2026
Definition of backbone
Noun
  • Its language about seeking opportunity rather than security, taking calculated risks, building, falling, succeeding, and refusing to trade dignity for dependence captured, almost perfectly, how my father thought about America.
    — Phil Kafarakis, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • The Eola celebration was capped by a reenactment of the signing of the Declaration of In dependence.
    — Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 July 2026
Definition of dependence
Noun
  • The only way to preserve our republic is to strengthen the pillars of our present with the mortar of our past.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
  • These clips, showing first-person views from drones striking military and logistical sites, have become a pillar of Ukraine’s wartime propaganda efforts to illustrate battlefield successes against Russia.
    — Marc Santora, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of pillar

Browse Nearby Words

reliableness
reliance
reliances
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Reliance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reliance. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on reliance

Nglish: Translation of reliance for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about reliance

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