consistent

con·sis·tent

adjective \kən-ˈsis-tənt\

Definition of CONSISTENT

1

archaic : possessing firmness or coherence

2

a : marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity : free from variation or contradiction <a consistent style in painting>

b : marked by agreement : compatible —usually used with with <statements not consistent with the truth>

c : showing steady conformity to character, profession, belief, or custom <a consistent patriot>

3

: tending to be arbitrarily close to the true value of the parameter estimated as the sample becomes large <a consistent statistical estimator>

— con·sis·tent·ly \-lē\ adverb

Examples of CONSISTENT

1. He is a consistent supporter of the museum.
2. We need to be more consistent in handling this problem.
3. Customers expect that the quality of service they receive will be consistent.
4. The pain has been consistent.
5. Your grades have shown consistent improvement this school year.
6. Their descriptions of the accident were consistent.
7. The decision was consistent with the company's policy.
8. … the sixty-five-year-old filmmaker continues to practice his craft with consistent artistic aplomb. —Peter Travers, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2001
9. I am not consistent about giving vibrancy and other kinds of input to a relationship. … There are periods when I am the most attentive and thoughtful lover in the world, and periods, too, when I am just unavailable. —Toni Cade Bambara, “A Conversation with Claudia Tate,” in The Story and Its Writer, edited by Ann Charters, 1987
10. One of the strengths of Blake's letters is their consistent readability … —William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, (l953) 1982
11. The rhythm of the gesture never varied. The paper flew in identically the same arc at each doorway, landed in identically the same spot. It was impossible for anybody to throw with such consistent perfection. —Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time, (1962) 1976

Origin of CONSISTENT

Latin consistent-, consistens, present participle of consistere (see ¹consist)

First Known Use: 1638

Related to CONSISTENT

Synonyms

accordant, coherent, compatible, concordant, conformable (to), congruent, congruous, consonant, correspondent (with or to), harmonious, nonconflicting, of a piece

Antonyms

conflicting, conflictive, incompatible, incongruous, inconsistent, inharmonious, noncompatible

Related Words

self-consistent; appropriate, befitting, felicitous, fit, fitting, meet, proper, right, suitable

Near Antonyms

improper, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, infelicitous, unsuitable

Rhymes with CONSISTENT

assistant, existent, insistent, persistent, resistant, subsistent