depend

verb

(intransitive, usually followed by on or upon) To trust; to have confidence; to rely.

(intransitive, followed by on or upon, formerly also by of like independent does) To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition

(transitive) To cause to be contingent or dependent on; to set as a necessity.

(now literary, heraldry) To hang down; to be sustained by being fastened or attached to something above, especially in heraldry, where a badge, decoration, or element is suspended from another part of an achievement of arms.

(archaic) To be pending; to be undetermined or undecided.

Roots

pendo-pend · Latin · hang

Synonyms & related words for depend

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Words related to depend

Explore words related to depend — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include rely, overdependent, dependent, reliant, dependently, dependence, affect, reckon. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does depend come from?

The word depend breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -pend, from Latin pendo (“hang”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.