DEPENDANCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dependance mean? 

• DEPENDANCE (noun)
  The noun DEPENDANCE has 2 senses:

1. being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)

2. the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else

  Familiarity information: DEPENDANCE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEPENDANCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

addiction; dependance; dependence; dependency; habituation

Hypernyms ("dependance" is a kind of...):

physical condition; physiological condition; physiological state (the condition or state of the body or bodily functions)

Domain category:

narcotic (a drug that produces numbness or stupor; often taken for pleasure or to reduce pain; extensive use can lead to addiction)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dependance"):

drug addiction; white plague (an addiction to a drug (especially a narcotic drug))

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

dependance; dependence; dependency

Hypernyms ("dependance" is a kind of...):

state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dependance"):

helplessness (the state of needing help from something)

reliance (the state of relying on something)

subordination (the state of being subordinate to something)

contingency (the state of being contingent on something)