dependence

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The state of being determined, influenced, or controlled by something else.
• noun The state of being dependent on another for financial support.
• noun The condition of being dependent on a substance such as a drug or on a given behavior.
• noun Archaic Trust; reliance.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The fact of being dependent or pendent; the relation of a hanging thing to the support from which it hangs; a hanging; also, the hanging thing itself.
• noun The relation of logical consequent to its antecedent, of conclusion to premise, or of a contingent fact to the condition upon which it depends; the relation of effect to cause.
• noun The state of deriving existence, support, or direction from another; the state of being subject to the power and operation of some extraneous force; subjection or subordination to another or to something else: as, dependence is the natural condition of childhood; the dependence of life upon solar heat.
• noun Reliance; confidence; trust; a resting on something: as, we may have a firm dependence on the promises of God.
• noun In law: The quality of being conditional on something else. See dependent, 5. Pendency; the condition of awaiting determination.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act or state of depending; state of being dependent; a hanging down or from; suspension from a support.
• noun The state of being influenced and determined by something; subjection (as of an effect to its cause).
• noun Mutual connection and support; concatenation; systematic inter-relation.
• noun Subjection to the direction or disposal of another; inability to help or provide for one's self; a lack of independence or self-sufficiency.
• noun A resting with confidence; reliance; trust.
• noun That on which one depends or relies.
• noun That which depends; anything dependent or suspended; anything attached a subordinate to, or contingent on, something else.
• noun obsolete A matter depending, or in suspense, and still to be determined; ground of controversy or quarrel.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The state of being dependent, of relying upon another.
• noun An irresistible physical or psychological need, especially for a chemical substance.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)
• noun the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else