Reliant

How to spell reliant

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce reliant

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reliant mean?

1. adjectiveDependent on someone or something for support, help, or supply.

Reliant in a sentence

• The small town is heavily reliant on tourism for its income.

• Many older workers are reliant on a single pension.

Where does reliant come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adjective grows out of the verb 'rely', which English took from the Old French 'relier', meaning 'to bind together' or 'to fasten'. That French verb traces back to the Latin 'religare', formed from 're-' (an intensifying prefix) and 'ligare', meaning 'to bind' or 'to tie', the same root that gives us 'ligament' and 'oblige'. When 'rely' entered English in the 1300s it first carried the sense of binding oneself or rallying to something, and only later softened into the modern meaning of trusting or depending on something. The adjective 'reliant', meaning 'dependent on', was formed in English by adding the suffix '-ant', which marks a quality or state, much as in 'defiant' or 'compliant'. The single 'l' is the spelling trap here: because the word sounds connected to 'really', writers sometimes want a double 'l', but the root 'rely' keeps just one.

How the word is built

• reli- (from rely, to depend on)
• -ant (adjective suffix meaning 'in a state of')