self-reliance
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.79 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The capacity to rely on one's own capabilities, and to manage one's own affairs; independence.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Loss of self-reliance leads to loss of self-confidence."
- "The present sorrow always exceeds its predecessors—not so the present joy; comparison exaggerates the one, while it diminishes the other; and people talk of their youth as if it had not been a period of feverish sensitiveness, awkward embarrassments, many heart-burnings, and an utter want of that self-reliance which alone can ensure content."
- "A successful response uses social forces such as peer pressure and altruism to help people adapt to changing circumstances. It delivers messages and support that promote self-reliance rather than encourage people to fall back on stressed state support."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *swé? Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *selbaz Old English self Old English self- Middle English self- English self- English reliance English self-reliance From self- + reliance.