| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| rely |
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| SYLLABICATION: | re·ly |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  r -l  |
| INTRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: re·lied, re·ly·ing, re·lies
1. To be dependent for support, help, or supply: relies on her parents for tuition. 2. To place or have faith or confidence: relied on them to tell him the truth. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English relien, to rally, from Old French relier, from Latin relig re, to bind fast : re-, re- + ligre, to bind; see leig- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | re·lier —NOUN
| | SYNONYMS: | rely, trust, depend, reckon These verbs share the meaning to place or have faith or confidence in someone or something. Rely implies complete confidence: “You are the only woman I can rely on to be interested in her” (John Galsworthy). Trust stresses confidence arising from belief that is often based on inconclusive evidence: “We must try to trust one another. Stay and cooperate” (Jomo Kenyatta). Depend implies confidence in the help or support of another: depends on friends for emotional support. Reckon implies a sense of confident expectancy: “He reckons on finding a woman as big a fool as himself” (George Meredith).
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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