unreliable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of unreliable
Explanation
Someone unreliable can't be trusted to do something. Things can be unreliable too, like a bike with a wobbly wheel. The word "rely" is a clue to what unreliable means. When you can rely on something, you can count in it — it's reliable. On the other hand, you'd better not count on an unreliable person. People can be unreliable because they're dishonest, always late, bad at their job, or just inconsistent. Things can be unreliable because they're broken or old. A train schedule can be unreliable if the trains are never on time. Unfortunately, there's a lot of stuff in life that's unreliable, so be careful.
Vocabulary lists containing unreliable
STAAR English I: Elements of Literature
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STAAR English II: Elements of Literature 1
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Point of View
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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.
“In this story, especially and uniquely, every character had a reason to be an unreliable narrator,” he writes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
Polling in mayoral races is typically pretty unreliable.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
But many were branded unreliable, faced barriers to work and advancement, and lived under a lasting cloud of suspicion.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
Based solely upon a single 1994 interview claiming a precise 50-year memory, such a tale can mislead writers who fail to appreciate how unreliable human memory can be.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Before the Scientific Revolution facts were few and far between: they were handmade, bespoke rather than mass produced, they were poorly distributed, they were often unreliable.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
