Adjacent Words

Rely definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RELY', v.i. [re and lie, or from the root of lie, lay.]
To rest on something, as the mind when satisfied of the veracity, integrity or ability of persons, or of the certainty of facts or of evidence; to have confidence in; to trust in; to depend; with on. We rely on the promise of a man who is known to be upright; we rely on the veracity or fidelity of a tried friend; a prince relies on the affections of his subjects for support, and on the strength of his army for success in war; above all things, we rely on the mercy and promises of God. That which is the ground of confidence, is a certainty or full conviction that satisfies the mind and leaves it at rest, or undisturbed by doubt.
Because thou has relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God - 2 Chronicles 16.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: have confidence or faith in; "We can trust in God"; "Rely on your friends"; "bank on your good education"; "I swear by my grandmother's recipes" [syn: trust, swear, rely, bank] [ant: distrust, mistrust, suspect]

Merriam Webster's

intransitive verb (relied; relying) Etymology: Middle English relien to rally, from Anglo-French relier to retie, gather, rally, from Latin religare to tie out of the way, from re- + ligare to tie — more at ligature Date: 1574 1. to be dependent <the system on which we rely for water> 2. to have confidence based on experience <someone you can rely on> • relier noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.intr. (-ies, -ied) (foll. by on, upon) 1 depend on with confidence or assurance (am relying on your judgement). 2 be dependent on (relies on her for everything). Etymology: ME (earlier senses 'rally, be a vassal of') f. OF relier bind together f. L religare (as RE-, ligare bind)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rely Re*ly" (r?-l?"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Relied (-l?d"); p. pr. & vb. n. Relying.] [Pref. re- + lie to rest.] To rest with confidence, as when fully satisfied of the veracity, integrity, or ability of persons, or of the certainty of facts or of evidence; to have confidence; to trust; to depend; -- with on, formerly also with in. Go in thy native innocence; rely On what thou hast of virtue. --Milton. On some fond breast the parting soul relies. --Gray. Syn: To trust; depend; confide; repose.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(relies, relying, relied) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you rely on someone or something, you need them and depend on them in order to live or work properly. They relied heavily on the advice of their professional advisers... VERB: V on/upon n 2. If you can rely on someone to work well or to behave as you want them to, you can trust them to do this. I know I can rely on you to sort it out... The Red Cross are relying on us. VERB: V on/upon n to-inf, V on/upon n

Moby Thesaurus

await, bank, bank on, bet on, build on, calculate, commit, confide, count on, depend, depend on, entrust, expect, have confidence in, hope, lean on, lean upon, look, lot, put faith in, reckon on, swear by, trust in