reliable Hear it!

reliable definition

re·li·able (ri līə bəl)

adjective

that can be relied on; dependable; trustworthy

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

reliable Synonyms

reliable

modif.

  1. Having a sound character

    dependable, trustworthy, firm, unimpeachable, trusty, sterling, strong, positive, stable, dependable, solid, staunch, decisive, unequivocal, steadfast, conscientious, constant, steady, faithful, loyal, true, sure, devoted, tried, honest, honorable, veracious, candid, true-hearted, principled, responsible, sincere, reputable, careful, proved, respectable, righteous, decent, incorruptible, truthful, upright, unfailing, unswerving, to be trusted, as good as one's word, regular*, all right*, OK*, kosher*, on the up and up*, square-shooting*, true blue*, tried and true*, straight-shooting*.

    Antonyms false*, irresponsible*, unfaithful. *

  2. Worthy of trust

    safe, honest, sound, stable, solid, steady, guaranteed, sure, certain, substantial, secure, unquestionable, conclusive, irrefutable, incontestable, credible, dependable, good, firm, strong, solvent, unfailing, infallible, authentic, competent, assured, workable, foolproof, sure-fire*.

    Antonyms dangerous*, insecure*, undependable.

reliable is applied to a person or thing that can be counted upon to do what is expected or required a reliable assistant, a reliable car; dependable refers to a person or thing that can be depended on, as in an emergency, and often connotes levelheadedness or steadiness a dependable friend; trustworthy applies to a person, or sometimes a thing, whose truthfulness, integrity, discretion, etc. can be relied on a trustworthy source of information; trusty applies to a person or thing that continued experience has shown to be highly trustworthy or dependable my trusty steed


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

reliable Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • statistically: The data from the labor force survey, which is a sample survey, are not statistically reliable at the constituency level.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: Doubling up the components makes servers more reliable too.

Modifies a noun

  • source: Here is a round-up of the latest news, coming from the most reliable source!

Used with adjective complement

  • prove: The reviewer has used the old version for the last nine months and it has proved reliable.

Preposition: in

  • sense: This test kit has been very reliable in the sense that its internal controls worked well.
reliable usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"reliable." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/reliable>

APA Style

reliable. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/reliable

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