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 In recent months Daum has spoken on her podcast and written in the New York Times about how the fire has utterly changed her life: A lifelong commitment to self-reliance, inherited from her parents, has given way to a new understanding of the relationship between help and love. Charles Arrowsmith, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025 But doctrines to shrink-the-state and cut taxes have limited revenue collection, thus hindering self-reliance. David Sogge, Time, 5 Apr. 2025 Country Montessori School is dedicated to sparking each child’s self-reliance, empathy, and resilience. Jose Bolanos, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025 By implementing reciprocal tariffs, President Trump is trying to level the playing field and generate revenue for the government while signaling a move away from globalization toward economic self-reliance. Garth Friesen, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for self-reliance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-reliance
Noun
  • Washington controversially backed Islamabad during the 1971 War of Bangladeshi independence, which oversaw what many analysts describe as a genocide against Bangladeshis.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Real-Life Examples Of Evolving Goals A couple who planned to retire early shifts their focus to charitable work after achieving financial independence.
    Andrew Rosen, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • In 2019, the Indian Parliament passed a law that revoked the region's administrative autonomy, which many in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had blamed for the violence that has rocked the Himalayan valley.
    Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 23 Apr. 2025
  • While Farrelly's startup couldn't always compete on pay, the flexibility, autonomy and calmer pace drew in nurses quickly — especially those looking to leave high-stress hospital jobs.
    Mike Winters,Lauren Shamo, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The tendency for successive U.S. administrations to regularly reverse the policy initiatives of their predecessors has heightened this uncertainty, frustrating efforts to develop the resources needed to strengthen American self-sufficiency and slow climate change.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
  • But that movement toward technological self-sufficiency has also exposed them to trade shocks and to the volatilities of the external economy.
    Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 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 1 May. 2025.

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