self-reliant.

Able and willing to manage practical needs without depending heavily on others.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• self-reliant character
• self-reliant household

On the page

The journey made her more self-reliant, not less willing to accept advice.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Comparative more self-reliant; superlative most self-reliant when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, behavior. Commonness: moderately common.