dependency

/dɪˈpɛndɪnsi/

/dɪˈpɛndɪnsi/

Other forms: dependencies

Dependency happens when you can't function without the help of someone or something. If you have a dependency on coffee, you need it to be human in the morning. Not sure? Ask the people you live with.

A dependency on the help or support of another person isn't necessarily negative, but other kinds of dependency — on something habit-forming or addictive, like cigarettes — can be harmful. You can also use this noun to mean "a country, province, or territory controlled by a bigger, more powerful country." Guam and Puerto Rico, which don't have complete independence from the US, can be called dependencies.

Definitions of dependency

1. noun

   the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else
   synonyms: dependance, dependence

   types:

   helplessness

   the state of needing help from something

   reliance

   the state of relying on something

   subordination

   the state of being subordinate to something

   contingency

   the state of being contingent on something

   type of:

   state

   the way something is with respect to its main attributes
2. noun

   being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)
   synonyms: addiction, dependance, dependence, habituation

   types:

   drug addiction, white plague

   an addiction to a drug (especially a narcotic drug)

   alcohol addiction, alcoholism, drunkenness, inebriation

   habitual intoxication; prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol such that abrupt deprivation leads to severe withdrawal symptoms

   cocaine addiction

   an addiction to cocaine

   heroin addiction

   an addiction to heroin

   caffein addiction

   an addiction to caffein

   nicotine addiction

   an addiction to nicotine

   type of:

   physical condition, physiological condition, physiological state

   the condition or state of the body or bodily functions
3. noun

   a geographical area politically controlled by a distant country
   synonyms: colony

   examples:

   Cayman Islands

   a British colony in the Caribbean to the northwest of Jamaica; an international banking center

   New Netherland

   a Dutch colony in North America along the Hudson and lower Delaware rivers although the colony centered in New Amsterdam; annexed by the English in 1664

   types:

   Crown Colony

   a British colony controlled by the British Crown, represented by a governor

   type of:

   geographic area, geographic region, geographical area, geographical region

   a demarcated area of the Earth