overdependence

O1V4E1R1D2E1P3E1N1D2E1N1C3E1

noun

Excessive reliance or dependence on something.

“We have an overdependence on cheap labor.”

Scrabble 23

Meanings

nounoverdependence (usually uncountable, plural overdependences)

plural overdependences

  1. uncountableusuallyExcessive reliance or dependence on something.

    We have an overdependence on cheap labor.

    1 more example

    For many, gay bars have been the traditional vehicle for coming out. Gays, unlike heterosexuals, are rarely provided with homosexual companionship at home or at work. This as made for a frequent overdependence on those social contacts offered by the bar scene — contacts which are often by the nature of their starting point, unfulfilling.

    1977 April 30, Steven Blevins, “Sexism in the Bars, Baths, and Bushes”, in Gay Community News, page 5

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Englishdependence
  8. Englishoverdependence

From over- + dependence.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

overdependence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overdependence

MLA

“overdependence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overdependence. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overdependence,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overdependence.

Source: overdependence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.