rə̇ˈlī, rēˈ- verb
( relied ; relied ; relying ; relies )
Etymology: Middle English relien, from Middle French relier to connect, fasten together, repair, rally, from Latin religare to tie back, tie up, tie fast, from re- + ligare to tie — more at ligature
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to gather together (as soldiers) : rally
2. obsolete : base , rest , repose
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : hold , cleave , belong — used with to
2. obsolete : consist , subsist — used with in
3. obsolete : lean , rest — used with on or upon
4. : to have confidence : have a feeling of security : place faith without reservation : trust — used with on, upon, or sometimes in
rely on his own wits
can this rope be relied upon
relied on the letter reaching you in time
: expect with confidence or certainty
dangerous to rely on higher market prices
5. : to find support : depend
rely on a well for all their water needs
rely on foreign sources of rubber
Synonyms:
count ( on ), reckon ( on ), bank ( on ), trust , depend ( on ): rely , count , reckon , and bank are about equal in force and are often interchangeable. rely may connote an objectivity of judgment based on previous experience with whatever is in question
that unskilled copyists cannot be relied on in matters of punctuation, line structure — Van Wyck Brooks
count ( on ) may suggest a situation involving calculation or computation
a special sum set apart … in addition to her pin money; on that she may absolutely count — Edith Wharton
reckon ( on ) likewise connotes calculating or planning. In affirmative situations it is common in reference to the known or determined as of one nature or another
the king scarcely knew on what members of his cabinet he could reckon — T.B.Macaulay
bank ( on ), which is the least formal in this series, may carry connotations from the noun bank (meaning “financial institution”) and suggest the certainty of money in a bank. bank ( on ) is wide in its use in applying to persons, things, facts, and ideas, and to either their general existence as such or their utility and benefit to the speaker
today, as hitherto, we bank on war — J.H.Holmes
you can bank on Jeeves — P.G.Wodehouse
trust may or may not suggest more complete belief or confidence in on the basis of faith rather than empirical fact
let us to Providence trust — A.H.Clough
better not trust her instinct — George Meredith
trusting to common sense as well as Allah — Aldous Huxley
depend ( on ) may suggest weakness or lack of forethought, invention, or self-sufficiency. It may apply to situations in which no alternate recourse or measure has been planned
he was always getting himself into crusades, or feuds, or love, or debt, and depended on the woman to get him out — Henry Adams