as in independence
the ability to care for one's self some people don't achieve self-reliance until they're over 30 years old

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of self-reliance The whitepaper had similar narratives, calling for self-reliance and playing up the country’s role as a stabilizing force amid global uncertainty. Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 14 May 2025 The Chinese leadership’s obsession with technological self-reliance and industrial capacity is not helping its biggest challenges: unemployment, weak consumption and a reliance on exports, not to mention the housing crisis. Li Yuan, New York Times, 13 May 2025 That means self-reliance, the avoidance of foreign technology imports, and so on, may prove more compelling than strong economic growth. Ann Scott Tyson, Christian Science Monitor, 9 May 2025 While small business ownership is often associated with optimism and self-reliance, these findings suggest that for many women, today's economic landscape feels uncertain, if not unsustainable. Eric Johnson, CNBC, 9 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for self-reliance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-reliance
Noun
  • Mossad leadership has in past decades made direct contact with Iraqi Kurdish officials, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first and potentially only world leader to support the KRG's independence bid in 2017, prompting further regional backlash.
    Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
  • The Athletic maintains full editorial independence.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 May 2025
Noun
  • Stop micromanaging teams to death—a little autonomy helps.
    Jon Michail, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
  • Read More: What the History of Saint Augustine Can Teach us About Pope Leo XIV Despite setting limits on the autonomy of the American Church, the social teachings of Leo XIII had enormous influence on Catholicism in the U.S., especially after the horrors of World War I.
    Time, Time, 29 May 2025
Noun
  • Urban farming: Teach your community about food production and self-sufficiency through an urban farm.
    Chelsea Tobin, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
  • China is countering not with tit-for-tat tariffs but with export bans on critical minerals, open-source AI workarounds, and a furious push for tech self-sufficiency.
    Quartz Staff, Quartz, 22 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Self-reliance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-reliance. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

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