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View synonyms for self-reliance

self-reliance

[ self-ri-lahy-uhns, self- ]

noun

  1. reliance on oneself or one's own powers, resources, etc.


self-reliance

noun

  1. reliance on one's own abilities, decisions, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


“Self-Reliance”

  1. (1841) An essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson that advises the reader to “Trust thyself” and argues that “whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” It is the source of several well-known epigrams , such as “To be great is to be misunderstood” and “ A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds .”


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Derived Forms

  • ˌself-reˈliant, adjective
  • ˌself-reˈliantly, adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of self-reliance1

First recorded in 1825–35
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Example Sentences

Christianity spawned the monastic movement, originally in Egypt, that insisted upon peace, self-reliance, education and charity.

“I would never do that,” he snaps, launching into a lecture on the virtues of self-reliance.

The pursuit of happiness is a double-edged sword; self-reliance often bleeds into selfishness.

The daddy party cherishes its self-image as the party of toughness, of self-reliance, of up-by-the-bootstraps fortitude.

But the practice of realism defined the founding generation of the state fully as much as the ideal of self-reliance.

Modern times, we are convinced, have witnessed but few instances of such a masterly policy, combined with signal self-reliance.

Indeed, individual cases show a virtual lack of self-reliance.

He attempted aggressive operations with his former energy and self-reliance, but not with his former success.

My aim has been to set good sterling stuff before the world, so that any one, whose self-reliance is great, may receive strength.

She had seen before that look of competence, of easy self-reliance.

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self-regulativeself-reliant