reliant

reliant — adjective

1. requiring the support, help, or presence of another person or thing to be able t

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

requiring the support, help, or presence of another person or thing to be able to function, survive, or achieve what is needed.

Example

The local hospital is heavily reliant on donations to pay for its equipment.

collocation: heavily reliant on [sth]

Asher's elderly mother is now entirely reliant on him for daily care and meals.

pattern: reliant on [sb] for [sth]

Common collocations
  • heavily reliant on
  • entirely reliant on
  • totally reliant on
  • increasingly reliant on
  • completely reliant on
  • reliant upon
  • reliant on somebody for something
  • remain reliant on
  • become reliant on
  • grow reliant on
Synonyms
  • dependent

    more general and far more common; 'reliant' implies a stronger implication of trust or counting on someone/something

  • contingent

    formal; suggests the outcome depends entirely on a specific condition or event

  • beholden

    adds a sense of moral obligation or gratitude, not just practical dependence

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

reliant + on + noun phrase

reliant + upon + noun phrase

Usage Note

Frequently used with an intensifying adverb before the adjective, such as 'heavily', 'entirely', 'totally', or 'increasingly'.

Common Mistakes

He is reliant of his parents for money.
He is reliant on his parents for money.
The correct preposition is 'on' (or 'upon' in more formal contexts), not 'of'.
This plant is reliant to plenty of sunlight.
This plant is reliant on plenty of sunlight.
'Reliant' takes 'on/upon', not 'to'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Reliant and dependent both describe a state of needing support, but reliant carries a stronger implication of active trust or counting on someone or something, whereas dependent is more neutral and far more commonly used in everyday speech. Contingent is formal and emphasises that the outcome of a situation depends entirely on a specific condition ('The trip is contingent on the weather'). Beholden adds a moral dimension of gratitude or obligation, suggesting the person feels indebted to the one providing support ('I am beholden to my uncle for paying my tuition'). In writing, choose reliant when you want to highlight the relationship of support; use dependent for simple descriptions of need; reserve contingent for conditional scenarios; and use beholden when a sense of gratitude is central. For example: 'Small farmers are heavily reliant on seasonal rains' emphasises their trust in nature, whereas 'Small farmers are dependent on seasonal rains' simply states a fact. 'Their survival is contingent on foreign aid' sounds more technical. 'She felt beholden to the charity that saved her home' adds the emotional weight of gratitude.

reliant ↗dependent ↗contingent ↗beholden ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • become reliant on
  • remain reliant on
  • grow reliant on
  • be reliant on
  • be reliant upon

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed within English from 'rely' (verb) plus the suffix '-ant', which creates adjectives meaning 'doing something' or 'being in a state'. The verb 'rely' entered English via Old French 'relier' (to fasten, attach), tracing back to Latin 'religare' — a combination of 're-' (back, again) and 'ligare' (to bind). The core image is of something being bound or tied back to something else for support, which evolved into the modern sense of counting on or depending on someone or something.