adj
unreliable
uhn-rih-LEYE-uh-bl
adj
1
Not able to be trusted or depended on to perform consistently.
"His old car was unreliable and kept breaking down."
"The witness was considered unreliable by the jury."
How to Use Unreliable
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishNot consistently trustworthy or dependable — used for people, sources, or equipment.
Common pairings
unreliable source
unreliable narrator
notoriously unreliable
Word Forms
more unreliable comparative, unreliables plural, most unreliable superlative
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His old car was _____ and kept breaking down.
Etymology
From un- ("not") plus reliable.