dependency

1. 1.

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

   Synonymsdependencedependance

   Broaderstate

   Narrowerhelplessnessreliancesubordinationcontingency
2. 2.

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

   Synonymsaddictiondependencedependancehabituation

   Broaderphysical condition

   Narrowerdrug addiction

   narcotic

3. 3.

   a geographical area politically controlled by a distant country

   Synonymscolony

   Broadergeographical area

   NarrowerCrown ColonyCayman IslandsNew Netherland

Other forms of dependency

plural

dependencies·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about dependency

What does dependency mean?

dependency means "the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in dependency?

dependency has 4 syllables: de-pen-den-cy. The stress falls on "pen". In IPA it is /dɪˈpɛndənsi/.

What is another word for dependency?

Close synonyms include dependence, dependance, addiction, dependence, dependance. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is dependency a common word?

dependency is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.