overreliance

noun

over·​re·​li·​ance ˌō-vər-ri-ˈlī-ən(t)s How to pronounce overreliance (audio)
: the act or state of relying on something or someone too much : excessive reliance
One of my top priorities next year is to have an energy policy that begins to address all facets of our overreliance on fossil fuels.Barack Obama
I shy away from prescribing sleeping pills … to avoid overreliance on them.Andrew Weil

Examples of overreliance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
One cause, some officers told me, was an overreliance on intelligence gathered by technological means. Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025 One of the biggest risks is overreliance—treating these tools as foolproof systems rather than guides. Wayne Liang, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025 On forums like Rate My Professors, students have complained about lectures’ overreliance on AI. Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 8 July 2025 While Rowling purposefully taps into readers’ anxieties about technology’s propensity to fuel consumerism and inspire dependency, Harry Potter’s magic should be, by its own terms, no better able to deter its users from consumerism or overreliance than contemporary technologies can. Literary Hub, 26 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for overreliance

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overreliance was in 1833

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Cite this Entry

“Overreliance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overreliance. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.

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