Depends

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /dɪˈpɛndz/

Definitions

1. The result of a matter hinges on particular conditions that influence its outcome
2. The final decision is reliant on various elements that govern its direction
3. To be determined by certain factors or conditions that affect the outcome

Etymology: "Depends" is the third-person singular form of "depend", so it is the present tense that goes with "he", "she" or "it". The verb's core idea is literal hanging. Its Latin ancestor, "dependeō", was built from "dē-", meaning "down" or "from", and "pendeō", "to be suspended, hang", the same root that gives English "pendant" and "pendulum". To depend was originally to hang down from something. The figurative sense of relying on something followed naturally: a thing that hangs from a support is held up by it. The word came into English through Old French "dependre" in Middle English, and it pushed aside the native Old English "hangian", which also meant "to hang" and could carry the sense of depending. So the English word that now means relying on something once did the physical work of dangling.

Synonyms: relies, hinges, counts, leans, is contingent

Antonyms: independent, self-sufficient, unconnected, autonomous, free