reliable

adjective re·li·able \ ri-ˈlī-ə-bəl \

Definition of reliable

1 :suitable or fit to be relied on :dependable

2 :giving the same result on successive trials

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reliableness

noun

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reliably

play \-blē\ adverb

See reliable defined for English-language learners

See reliable defined for kids

Examples of reliable in a Sentence

He's not very reliable. You can't always count on him to do what he says he'll do.
We can't write a report without reliable data.
We need more reliable information before we can take action.

Recent Examples of reliable from the Web

Medicare requires hospices to establish a safe way to administer drugs to each patient — by identifying a reliable caregiver, staff member or volunteer to manage the drugs or, if need be, relocating the patient.

— melissa bailey, Kaiser Health News, "Dying At Home In An Opioid Crisis: Hospices Grapple With Stolen Meds," 22 Aug. 2017
At the war court, statements often are confessions, and the judge has to rule whether a coerced statement is reliable enough to be used at a trial.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "How long after torture are statements admissible?Guantánamo court debates question.," 4 Aug. 2017
Decades of data confirm that Black women are the Democratic Party’s most committed, reliable base.

— glynda carr, Essence.com, "Getting Out Of The ‘Sunken Place’ Of Politics: Black Women Are Key To Future Progressive Wins," 25 July 2017
The Bellwether plays the hits found at any reliable neighborhood restaurant and adds another layer of delicious polish.

— garrett snyder, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Los Angeles Magazine Hot Restaurant List for July 2017," 18 July 2017
That’s bad news for the laws’ opponents, especially because the department has traditionally been one of the most reliable advocates, and initiators, of legal action on local election matters.

— vann r. newkirk ii, The Atlantic, "The Department of Justice Stands by Texas's Voter ID Law," 8 July 2017
Texas hard rock band Hellyeah is a reliable go-to for fans of Mudvayne, Nothingface, Pantera and Danzig.

— jeffrey lee puckett, The Courier-Journal, "Lebowski Fest leads Louisville's Top 5 events for July 6-12," 4 July 2017
There was little reliable information about what was going on within the gay community, Harold Levine, a New Yorker who lived through these early days of the epidemic, tells New York Magazine’s Tim Murphy.

— erin blakemore, Smithsonian, "This Was the First Major News Article on HIV/AIDS," 3 July 2017
Leonardo DiCaprio is known as a man who is reliable in his tastes: wearing newsboy caps, riding CitiBikes, dating blond models between the ages of 20-25.

— gabriella paiella, The Cut, "Leonardo DiCaprio Reportedly Parties Just Like You (On His Phone, Ignoring Everyone)," 23 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reliable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of reliable

1569

reliable Synonyms

Synonyms

calculable, good, dependable, responsible, safe, secure, solid, steady, sure, tried, tried-and-true, true, trustable, trustworthy, trusty

Antonyms

dodgy [chiefly British], uncertain, undependable, unreliable, unsafe, untrustworthy

Related Words

constant, devoted, faithful, fast, loyal, staunch (also stanch), steadfast, true-blue; honest, sincere, single-minded; infallible, unerring; bedrock, firm, sound, strong; effective, telling; attested, authenticated, confirmed, proven, valid, validated, verified; blameless, faultless, guiltless, impeccable, inerrant, irreproachable, unimpeachable, unquestionable

Near Antonyms

disloyal, faithless, false, fickle, inconstant, perfidious, recreant, traitorous, treacherous, unfaithful, untrue; deceitful, dishonest, lying, mendacious, untruthful; debatable, disputable, doubtable, doubtful, dubious, fishy, problematic (also problematical), questionable, shady, shaky, suspect, uncertain, unsound; hazardous, risky; unconfirmed, untried

reliable

noun

Definition of reliable

:one that is reliable

Recent Examples of reliable from the Web

Also submitted for our hilarity are such reliables as the pot-smoking old lady and the elaborate cake that will never reach the finale intact.

— jeannette catsoulis, New York Times, "Review: At ‘Table 19,’ Random Wedding Guests Straining to Laugh," 2 Mar. 2017
North Korea's weekend launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile further demonstrated that the country is consistently trying to come up with new, better ways to keep its nuclear deterrent reliable and safe from attack.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "What's Different About North Korea's Latest Missile Test," 13 Feb. 2017