rely

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re·ly

(rĭ-lī′)

intr.v. re·lied, re·ly·ing, re·lies

1. To be dependent for support, help, or supply: relies on her parents for tuition.

2. To place or have faith or confidence: relied on them to tell him the truth.

[Middle English relien, to rally, from Old French relier, from Latin religāre, to bind fast : re-, re- + ligāre, to bind; see leig- in Indo-European roots.]

re·li′er n.

Synonyms: rely, depend, trust
These verbs share the meaning to place or have faith or confidence in someone or something: He relies on his parents for support. Our theater group depends on volunteers to act as ushers. I trust my sister's advice.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

rely

(rɪˈlaɪ)

vb (intr; foll by on or upon) , -lies, -lying or -lied

1. to be dependent (on): he relies on his charm.

2. to have trust or confidence (in): you can rely on us.

[C14: from Old French relier to fasten together, repair, from Latin religāre to tie back, from re- + ligāre to tie]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

re•ly

(rɪˈlaɪ)

v.i. -lied, -ly•ing.

to depend confidently; put trust in (usu. fol. by on or upon): Can I rely on your support?

[1300–50; Middle English < Middle French relier < Latin religāre to bind fast, hold firmly. See re-, ligament]

re•li′er, n.

rely

Past participle: relied
Gerund: relying

Imperative
rely
rely

Present
I rely
you rely
he/she/it relies
we rely
you rely
they rely

Preterite
I relied
you relied
he/she/it relied
we relied
you relied
they relied

Present Continuous
I am relying
you are relying
he/she/it is relying
we are relying
you are relying
they are relying

Present Perfect
I have relied
you have relied
he/she/it has relied
we have relied
you have relied
they have relied

Past Continuous
I was relying
you were relying
he/she/it was relying
we were relying
you were relying
they were relying

Past Perfect
I had relied
you had relied
he/she/it had relied
we had relied
you had relied
they had relied

Future
I will rely
you will rely
he/she/it will rely
we will rely
you will rely
they will rely

Future Perfect
I will have relied
you will have relied
he/she/it will have relied
we will have relied
you will have relied
they will have relied

Future Continuous
I will be relying
you will be relying
he/she/it will be relying
we will be relying
you will be relying
they will be relying

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been relying
you have been relying
he/she/it has been relying
we have been relying
you have been relying
they have been relying

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been relying
you will have been relying
he/she/it will have been relying
we will have been relying
you will have been relying
they will have been relying

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been relying
you had been relying
he/she/it had been relying
we had been relying
you had been relying
they had been relying

Conditional
I would rely
you would rely
he/she/it would rely
we would rely
you would rely
they would rely

Past Conditional
I would have relied
you would have relied
he/she/it would have relied
we would have relied
you would have relied
they would have relied

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb

rely - have confidence or faith in; "We can trust in God"; "Rely on your friends"; "bank on your good education"; "I swear by my grandmother's recipes"

trust, swear, bank

believe - accept as true; take to be true; "I believed his report"; "We didn't believe his stories from the War"; "She believes in spirits"

credit - have trust in; trust in the truth or veracity of

lean - rely on for support; "We can lean on this man"

depend, bet, reckon, calculate, count, look - have faith or confidence in; "you can count on me to help you any time"; "Look to your friends for support"; "You can bet on that!"; "Depend on your family in times of crisis"

Translations

يَثِق، يَعْتَمِديَعْتَمِد على

počítatspoléhatspoléhat na

stole på

sich verlassen auf verlassen vertrauen auf

atrever

luottaa

compter sur dépendre

bízikszámít

reiîa sig átreysta

affidarsi confidare

būt atkarīgampaļautiesticēt

полагаться рассчитывать опираться

zanesti se

güvenmekitimat etmek

依靠信任信赖

rely

[rɪˈlaɪ] VI to rely (up)on sth/sb (= depend on) → depender de algo/algn; (= count on) → contar con algo/algn; (= trust) → confiar en algo/algn, fiarse de algo/algn
he had gradually come to rely on her → había llegado poco a poco a depender de ella
can we rely on your help? → ¿podemos contar con tu ayuda?
she'll come, you can rely upon it → vendrá, con eso puedes contar, vendrá, cuenta con ello
you can't rely on the trains/the weather → no se puede uno fiar de los trenes/del tiempo
to rely (up)on sth/sb for sth → depender de algo/algn para algo
the island relies on tourism for its income → la isla depende del turismo como fuente de ingresos
to rely (up)on sth/sb to do sth: we are relying on you to do it → contamos con usted para hacerlo
you can rely on him to be late → puedes tener por seguro or ten por seguro que va a llegar tarde
can I rely on you to behave? → ¿puedo confiar en que te vas a comportar?, ¿puedo fiarme de que te vas a comportar?

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

rely

[rɪˈlaɪ]

(= trust) to rely on sb → compter sur qn
I'm relying on you → Je compte sur toi.

(= be dependent) to rely on sth → dépendre de qch
We're relying on good weather → Nous dépendons du temps.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

rely

vi to rely (up)on somebody/something → sich auf jdn/etw verlassen; (= be dependent on) → auf jdn/etw angewiesen sein; she relied on the trains being on time → sie verließ sich darauf, dass die Züge pünktlich waren; I rely on him for my income → ich bin finanziell auf ihn angewiesen; you can rely (up)on my help or on me to help you → du kannst dich darauf verlassen, dass ich dir helfe; she is not to be relied upon → man kann sich nicht auf sie verlassen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

rely

[rɪˈlaɪ] vi to rely on sb/sth (count on) → contare su qn/qc; (be dependent on) → dipendere da qn/qc
you can rely on my discretion → puoi fidarti della mia discrezione
you can't rely on the trains → non si può fare affidamento sui treni
she relies on him for financial support → dipende da lui finanziariamente

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

rely

(rəˈlai) : rely on verb

1. to depend on or need. The people on the island relied on the supplies that were brought from the mainland; I am relying on you to help me.

2. to trust (someone) to do something; to be certain that (something will happen). Can he rely on him to keep a secret?; He can be relied on; That is what will probably happen, but we can't rely on it.

reˈliable (-ˈlai-) adjective

(negative unreliable) able to be trusted. Is he reliable?; Is this information reliable?

reˌliaˈbility noun

reˈliably (-ˈlai-) adverb

from a reliable source; by a reliable person. I am reliably informed that the Prime Minister is going to resign.

reˈliance (-ˈlai-) noun

a country's reliance on aid from other countries; a child's reliance on its mother.

reˈliant adjective

rely

v. depender, contar con, confiar en.

References in classic literature ?

Hence, he who attacks the Turk must bear in mind that he will find him united, and he will have to rely more on his own strength than on the revolt of others; but, if once the Turk has been conquered, and routed in the field in such a way that he cannot replace his armies, there is nothing to fear but the family of this prince, and, this being exterminated, there remains no one to fear, the others having no credit with the people; and as the conqueror did not rely on them before his victory, so he ought not to fear them after it.

View in context

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

View in context

Tell Erskine that you saw me here; that I have not forgotten my promise, and that he may rely on me.

"He told me to tell you that he had not forgotten his promise, and that you may rely on him."

View in context

"Oh, sire," replied the minister, "we have no occasion to invent any; every day our desks are loaded with most circumstantial denunciations, coming from hosts of people who hope for some return for services which they seek to render, but cannot; they trust to fortune, and rely upon some unexpected event in some way to justify their predictions."

Take courage, sir; but at the same time rely on our royal gratitude."

View in context

The peddler with his pack traversed the country by all manner of lonely roads, and was compelled to rely upon the country people for hospitality.

View in context

For my own part, I do not hesitate to say that, notwithstanding all the evidence produced against her, I believe and rely on her perfect innocence.

View in context

For which reason they are always at enmity with those of merit, as hurtful to their government; not only as they scorn to be governed despotically, but also because they can rely upon each other's fidelity, and others can rely upon theirs, and because they will not inform against their associates, nor any one else.

View in context

Germaine's, and was in want of an assistant on whose capacity he could rely. Through my stepfather's interest, the post was offered to me.

View in context

In this emergency it naturally occurred to my mind that a countryman of his own, on whom I could rely, might be the fittest person to help me.

View in context

There is indeed only one law of beauty on which we may rely,--that it invariably breaks all the laws laid down for it by the professors of aesthetics.