The word reliance is the noun form of the verb rely, which means to depend. Your reliance on the Internet for your information will be your undoing, if the power ever goes out.
A person's reliance on something is their dependence on it. A mime's reliance on silence is the key to his performance: if he speaks, he'll be ruined. Your reliance on the kindness of strangers makes sense when you consider that you'll never run out of strangers upon whom to rely. Too bad you can't just lean on the folks that you know.
