dependency

Language: en

🇬🇧 /dɪˈpɛndənsi/ 🇺🇸 /dɪˈpɛndənsiː/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else; the condition of being dependent.; A thing that depends on another thing; something that is subordinate or contingent upon something else.; A territory or country that is under the political control of another country; a colony or subordinate territory.; In computing, a software component or library that another program requires in order to function properly.; A physical or psychological need for a substance, especially a drug or alcohol; addiction.; In statistics, a relationship between two or more variables where the value of one is determined or influenced by the value of another.; In grammar, a relationship between words in a sentence where one word (the dependent) is governed by another (the head).; A person who relies on another for financial support, especially a child or elderly relative claimed for tax purposes.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable / uncountable Plural: dependencies

Collocations

dependency ondrug dependencycode dependencydependency injectionforeign dependencydependency ratio

Derivatives

dependdependentdependenceindependentindependencedependabledependability

Synonyms

dependencerelianceaddictionreliance

Antonyms

independenceself-sufficiencyautonomy

Commonly confused

dependence
EN: 'Dependence' refers more to the general abstract state of relying on something; 'dependency' often refers to a specific thing that is depended upon (e.g., a software dependency) or a specific instance of reliance.
addiction
EN: 'Addiction' implies a compulsive, often harmful physical or psychological need; 'dependency' is broader and can be neutral or technical.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the '-ency' ending (not '-ancy'). The plural changes 'y' to 'ies': 'dependencies'.

💬 Examples

  1. The country's dependency on foreign oil has become a major political issue.

  2. The small island was a dependency of the British Empire for over a century.

  3. Puerto Rico is a dependency of the United States.

  4. The project has too many dependencies, making it difficult to maintain.

  5. He sought treatment for his dependency on prescription painkillers.

  6. The study examined the dependency between income level and life expectancy.

  7. Dependency grammar analyzes sentence structure based on the dependency relations between words.

  8. She claimed her two children as dependencies on her tax return.