dependent

Pluraldependents

1. 1
   adjective

   Needing someone or something else for help or support.

   Like a young bird that needs its parents to bring it food.

   A newborn baby is completely dependent on its parents for everything.

   He grew dependent on his morning coffee just to wake up.

   Similarreliant

   Oppositeindependent, self-sufficient, self-reliant, autonomous

   Note
2. 2
   nounUScountable

   A person who depends on someone else for money, food, or care.

   Like a child who needs a parent to pay for food and clothes.

   He listed his two children as dependents on the form.

   Each dependent in the household qualified for the discount.

   Oppositeprovider, breadwinner

   Note
3. 3
   adjective

   Describing an outcome whose chance of happening changes because of another event.

   Like how your chance of staying dry depends on whether it rains.

   Drawing a second red card is dependent on whether the first card was put back.

   These two results are dependent, so one of them changes the odds of the other.

   Oppositeindependent

   Note
4. 4
   nounUScountable

   A word in a phrase that depends on the main word instead of being the main word itself.

   Like a branch that grows out from the trunk of a tree, never the other way around.

   In the phrase 'red car,' the word 'red' is a dependent of 'car.'

   Every dependent in the sentence links back to its head word.

   Oppositehead

   Note
5. 5
   adjective

   Hanging down or drooping toward the ground.

   Like ripe apples that pull a branch downward.

   The willow's dependent branches brushed the surface of the pond.

   Heavy with fruit, the dependent vines hung low over the path.

   Similarhanging, dangling, suspended, pendulous, drooping

6. 6
   adjective

   Describes a body part that sits lower than the heart, such as the legs when you stand.

   Like water that settles at the lowest point of a tilted container.

   Blood can pool in the dependent parts of the body when someone lies still too long.

   Swelling often appears first in the dependent areas, like the feet and ankles.

   Note
7. 7
   adjective

   Describes a verb form that is used only after a small word, such as a question or negative word.

   Like a train car that can only move when an engine is pulling it in front.

   In Irish, the dependent form of the verb follows the negative word.

   You use the dependent form right after a word that starts a question.

   Oppositeindependent

   Note
8. 8
   nounUScountable

   A verb form that cannot stand alone and must follow a small grammar word, used in Greek and Gaelic.

   In Ancient Greek, the dependent follows a particle instead of standing on its own.

   Gaelic grammar uses a dependent after certain negative words.

   Oppositeindependent

   Note

Showing meanings only. Show all 8