inconsistency
Americannoun
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the quality or condition of being inconsistent.
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an inconsistent thing, action, remark, etc.
noun
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lack of consistency or agreement; incompatibility
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an inconsistent feature or quality
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logic
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the property of being inconsistent
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a self-contradictory proposition
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Etymology
Origin of inconsistency
First recorded in 1640–50; in- 3 + consistency
Explanation
When there's inconsistency, things are not the same. An example of inconsistency in parenting might be when parents give different allowances to kids who are the same age. There's a lot of inconsistency in the world. Some restaurants will serve delicious food most of the time, but not all the time. Teachers in different classes will have different rules for what is expected. Another type of inconsistency is between ideas or propositions. For example, if you want to lose weight but cannot stop eating donuts, there is a major inconsistency between those two ideas. Anywhere you find things that are changing or varying, there is inconsistency.
Vocabulary lists containing inconsistency
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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"How Smart Are Animals?" Vocabulary from the science article
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The Last Cuentista
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A combination of management inconsistency, injuries across the season and costly moments in big games ultimately proved decisive for Real.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
The inconsistency continued to plague Lesch, and eventually the Dodgers decided they’d seen enough and released him.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
That said, the inconsistency is hard to ignore.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
But it was limited by inconsistency in the measurement technique of the AGD—in fact, that the measurement was “difficult to standardize” is something that the paper itself notes.
From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026
It’s based on the concepts of Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” and it’s about how The Taker cured his loneliness at his old school through nonconformity and inconsistency.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
