Standard Lemma guide

dependence

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /dɪˈpɛndəns/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 P EH1 N D AH0 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being dependent, of relying upon another.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • He had a deep dependence on her for guidance.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An irresistible physical or psychological need, especially for a chemical substance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Her dependence on cocaine led to her ruin.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dependance, dependency

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: state

Narrower terms: helplessness, reliance, subordination, contingency

4

noun

Meaning 4

being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: addiction, dependance, dependency, habituation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: physical condition, physiological state, physiological condition

Narrower terms: drug addiction, white plague

History

Etymology

From Middle French dépendance. Morphologically depend + -ence.

Across languages

Translations

91 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: varësi — state of being dependent
  • Arabic: اِسْتِنَاد (istinād) — state of being dependent
  • Azerbaijani: asılılıq — state of being dependent
  • Belarusian: зале́жнасць (zaljéžnascʹ) — state of being dependent
  • Belarusian: зале́жнасьць (zaljéžnasʹcʹ) — state of being dependent
  • Bulgarian: зави́симост (zavísimost) — state of being dependent
  • Catalan: dependència — state of being dependent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 依賴性 /依赖性 (yīlàixìng) — state of being dependent
  • Czech: závislost — state of being dependent
  • Danish: afhængighed — state of being dependent
  • Danish: tillid — state of being dependent
  • Dutch: afhankelijkheid — state of being dependent
  • Dutch: nood — state of being dependent
  • Esperanto: dependeco — state of being dependent
  • Finnish: riippuvuus — state of being dependent
  • French: dépendance — state of being dependent
  • Georgian: დამოკიდებულება (damoḳidebuleba) — state of being dependent
  • German: Abhängigkeit — state of being dependent
  • Greek: εξάρτηση (exártisi) — state of being dependent
  • Hebrew: תְּלוּת (tlut) — state of being dependent
  • Hindi: निर्भरता (nirbhartā) — state of being dependent
  • Hungarian: függés — state of being dependent
  • Irish: spleáchas — state of being dependent
  • Irish: spleá — state of being dependent
  • Irish: tuilleamaí — state of being dependent
  • Italian: dipendenza — state of being dependent
  • Japanese: 依存 (izon) — state of being dependent
  • Kazakh: тәуелділік (täueldılık) — state of being dependent
  • Korean: 의존 (uijon) — state of being dependent
  • Latvian: atkarība — state of being dependent
  • Macedonian: зависност (zavisnost) — state of being dependent
  • Marathi: अवलंबित्व (avlambitva) — state of being dependent
  • Marathi: अवलंबन (avlamban) — state of being dependent
  • Marathi: परावलंबन (parāvlamban) — state of being dependent
  • Norwegian Bokmål: avhengighet — state of being dependent
  • Odia: ଅବଲମ୍ବନ (abalambana) — state of being dependent
  • Polish: zależność — state of being dependent
  • Polish: bluszczowatość — state of being dependent
  • Polish: bluszczowość — state of being dependent
  • Portuguese: dependência — state of being dependent
  • Romanian: dependență — state of being dependent
  • Russian: зави́симость (zavísimostʹ) — state of being dependent
  • Serbo-Croatian: о̀висно̄ст — state of being dependent
  • Serbo-Croatian: за́висно̄ст — state of being dependent
  • Serbo-Croatian: òvisnōst — state of being dependent
  • Serbo-Croatian: závisnōst — state of being dependent
  • Sicilian: dipinnenzia — state of being dependent
  • Slovak: závislosť — state of being dependent
  • Slovene: odvisnost — state of being dependent
  • Lower Sorbian: wótwisnosć — state of being dependent
  • Spanish: dependencia — state of being dependent
  • Swahili: utegemezi — state of being dependent
  • Swedish: beroende — state of being dependent
  • Swedish: avhängighet — state of being dependent
  • Tamil: சார்பு (cārpu) — state of being dependent
  • Ukrainian: зале́жність (zaléžnistʹ) — state of being dependent
  • Arabic: إِدْمَان (ʔidmān) — irresistible need
  • Belarusian: зале́жнасць (zaljéžnascʹ) — irresistible need
  • Bulgarian: зави́симост (zavísimost) — irresistible need
  • Chinese Mandarin: 成癮 /成瘾 (chéngyǐn) — irresistible need
  • Czech: závislost — irresistible need
  • Danish: afhængighed — irresistible need
  • Dutch: verslaving — irresistible need
  • Dutch: afhankelijkheid — irresistible need
  • Esperanto: manio — irresistible need
  • Esperanto: pasio — irresistible need
  • Finnish: riippuvuus — irresistible need
  • French: dépendance — irresistible need
  • Georgian: დამოკიდებულება (damoḳidebuleba) — irresistible need
  • German: Abhängigkeit — irresistible need
  • Greek: εξάρτηση (exártisi) — irresistible need
  • Greek: εθισμός (ethismós) — irresistible need
  • Hindi: आश्रित (āśrit) — irresistible need
  • Japanese: 嗜癖 (shiheki) — irresistible need
  • Japanese: 中毒 (chūdoku) — irresistible need
  • Kazakh: тәуелділік (täueldılık) — irresistible need
  • Korean: 중독 (jungdok) — irresistible need
  • Latvian: atkarība — irresistible need
  • Portuguese: vício — irresistible need
  • Portuguese: dependência — irresistible need
  • Romanian: subjugare — irresistible need
  • Romanian: dependență — irresistible need
  • Romanian: subordonare — irresistible need
  • Russian: зави́симость (zavísimostʹ) — irresistible need
  • Serbo-Croatian: о̀висно̄ст — irresistible need
  • Serbo-Croatian: òvisnōst — irresistible need
  • Slovak: závislosť — irresistible need
  • Spanish: dependencia — irresistible need
  • Swedish: beroende — irresistible need
  • Ukrainian: зале́жність (zaléžnistʹ) — irresistible need
  • Ukrainian: адди́кція (addýkcija) — irresistible need