- 1dependence (on/upon somebody/something) the state of needing the help and support of somebody/something in order to survive or be successful his dependence on his parents Our relationship was based on mutual dependence. the dependence of Europe on imported foods financial/economic dependence opposite independence Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivegreat, heavy, absolute, … verb + dependencehave, increase, reduce, … prepositiondependence on, dependence upon See full entry
- 2(also dependency) the state of being addicted to something (= unable to stop taking or using it) drug/alcohol dependence Wordfinderdrugabuse, addict, deal, dependence, detoxification, drug, hallucinate, overdose, rehab, withdrawal Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivealcohol, drug, nicotine, … prepositiondependence on See full entry See related entries: Addiction
- 3dependence of A and B (specialist) the fact of one thing being affected by another the close dependence of soil and landforms Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘hanging down or something that hangs down’): from Old French dependance, from the verb dependre, from Latin dependere, from de- ‘down’ + pendere ‘hang’.Extra examples The government wants to reduce industry’s dependence on coal. Their relationship is based on a strong mutual dependence. a heavy dependence on imported materials dependence on alcohol her economic dependence on her husband his total dependence on his family
dependence
nounBrE BrE//dɪˈpendəns//; NAmE NAmE//dɪˈpendəns//
[uncountable] AddictionCheck pronunciation: dependence
