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dependent

de·pend·ent/dɪˈpɛndənt/adjective, noun

dependent is spelled D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables (de·pend·ent). It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “dependant vs dependent” about 5,400 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, dependent means “Relying upon; depending upon” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in dependent?

Letters9: D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T
Syllables3: de·pend·ent
In writing19 times per million words; the 4,444th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is dependent?

Dependent appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce dependent?

  • /dɪˈpɛndənt/

Dependent has 3 syllables, split de·pend·ent in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dependent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with dependent

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

dependant vs dependent5,400 G

Also written: dependant.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of dependent

  • more dependent comparative
  • most dependent superlative
  • dependents plural
  • dependant UK

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does dependent mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Relying upon; depending upon.

    At that point I was dependent on financial aid for my tuition.

  2. 2

    Having a probability that is affected by the outcome of a separate event.

  3. 3

    Used after a particle (with one or two exceptions), such as those which express questions, subordinate clauses, and negative sentences.

  4. 4

    Of part of the body: positioned lower than the heart, like the legs while standing up, or the back while supine.

  5. 5

    Hanging down.

    a dependent bough or leaf

noun

  1. 1

    USA person who relies on another for support or sustenance, particularly financial support.

    With two children and an ailing mother, she had three dependents in all.

  2. 2

    USAn element in phrase or clause structure that is not the head. Includes complements, modifiers and determiners.

  3. 3

    USThe aorist subjunctive or subjunctive perfective: a form of a verb not used independently but preceded by a particle to form the negative or a tense form. Found in Greek and in the Gaelic languages.

  4. 4

    USdependent (origination), in Buddhism, the idea that the existence of everything is conditional and dependent on a cause, and that nothing happens fortuitously or by chance.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Dependent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdépendant (relying upon; depending upon), dépendante, personne à charge (one who relies on another for support)
Germanabhängig, angewiesen (relying upon; depending upon), Unterhaltsempfänger, Unterhaltsempfängerin, Abhängiger (der Abhängige), Abhängige (one who relies on another for support)
Portuguesedependente (relying upon; depending upon)
Spanishdependiente (relying upon; depending upon)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does dependent come from?

From Middle English dependaunt, dependent, from Middle French dependant (present participle of dependre (“to depend”)) and Latin dēpendēns (present participle of dēpendeō (“to depend”)). By surface analysis, depend + -ent.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after dependent