What does "self-reliance" mean?

The capacity to rely on one's own capabilities, and to manage one's own affairs; independence.

What is a synonym for "self-reliance"?

Common synonyms include: self-sufficiency, arrogance, assurance, assuredness, autarchy, autarky.

Self-reliance

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The capacity to rely on one's own capabilities, and to manage one's own affairs; independence. uncountable
"Loss of self-reliance leads to loss of self-confidence."
2
personal independence wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

self-sufficiency arrogance assurance assuredness autarchy autarky

Example

More examples

"Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity."

Etymology

From self- + reliance.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.