Alcibiades . . . was too unsteady, and (according to Mr. Coleridge's coinage) ``unreliable;'' or perhaps, in more correct English, too ``unrelyuponable.'' --De Quincey. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
unreliable — I adjective capricious, changeful, deceitful, faithless, fallible, false, fickle, inconstant, insecure, irresponsible, perfidious, precarious, shifty, tergiversating, treacherous, two faced, undependable, unpredictable, unsound, unstable,… … Law dictionary
unreliable — (adj.) 1840, from UN (Cf. un ) (1) not + RELIABLE (Cf. reliable). First recorded in De Quincey, who said it was coined by Coleridge … Etymology dictionary
unreliable — [adj] not trustworthy, not true capricious, deceitful, deceptive, delusive, disreputable, dubious, erroneous, fake, fallible, false, fickle, fly by night*, furtive, hallucinatory, hollow, implausible, inaccurate, inconstant, irresponsible,… … New thesaurus
unreliable — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ not able to be relied upon. DERIVATIVES unreliability noun unreliably adverb … English terms dictionary
unreliable — [spelling only] … English World dictionary
unreliable */ — UK [ˌʌnrɪˈlaɪəb(ə)l] / US adjective 1) unreliable information is not definitely true or accurate Membership figures are unreliable. 2) a) someone who is unreliable will not do what you ask them to do, or will not do it well Don t ask Jan – she s… … English dictionary
unreliable — un|re|li|a|ble [ ,ʌnrı laıəbl ] adjective * 1. ) someone who is unreliable will not do what you ask them to do, or will not do it well: Don t ask Jan she s too unreliable. a ) used about things such as equipment or methods that will not work… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
unreliable — [[t]ʌ̱nrɪla͟ɪ͟əb(ə)l[/t]] ADJ GRADED If you describe a person, machine, or method as unreliable, you mean that you cannot trust them. Diplomats can be a notoriously unreliable and misleading source of information... His judgement was unreliable … English dictionary
unreliable — un|re|li|a|ble [ˌʌnrıˈlaıəbəl] adj unable to be trusted or depended on ▪ The car s becoming very unreliable. ▪ an unreliable witness … Dictionary of contemporary English
unreliable — adjective unable to be trusted or depended on: The car s becoming very unreliable. | unreliable witness (=someone who may not tell the truth in a court) opposite reliable … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
