How to Use unreliable in a Sentence

unreliable

adjective
  • And then he, too, is gone, as shifty and unreliable as his words.
    Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 14 June 2024
  • That’s not a sign that the first analyses are unreliable.
    Hilda Bastian, Wired, 8 Dec. 2020
  • Even the words that did present themselves could seem odd and unreliable.
    Graham Swift, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2022
  • The problem, the researchers said, is that many of those projects are unreliable and overpromise.
    Nicole Goodkind, Fortune, 7 Feb. 2022
  • The staff warned me not to expect it again; supply was very unreliable.
    Ahmed Ali Akbar, Chicago Tribune, 16 Oct. 2024
  • Both movies open on a death — one real, the other a hoax — and seek to take us back through time with the aid of an unreliable narrator.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Much of what the two men say about what’s happening in the rest of their lives is unreliable, based in fantasy or in lies.
    Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2022
  • If the eye is an unreliable narrator, what are we left with?
    Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 30 Jan. 2023
  • One of the most common is that the output of these systems is simply unreliable.
    James Vincent, The Verge, 5 Jan. 2023
  • But the company does not use fact-checks to keep ads off of pages with unreliable or harmful claims.
    Craig Silverman, ProPublica, 29 Oct. 2022
  • But the game’s use of these gestures felt awkward and unreliable, and the experience was short and on-rails.
    Adi Robertson, The Verge, 27 Sep. 2023
  • In 3 on 3, a game that relies on odd-man rushes and in-zone side to side motion, the data can be even more unreliable.
    Matthew Defranks, Dallas News, 1 Apr. 2021
  • China has seized on the turmoil to taunt the U.S. and label it an unreliable partner.
    Compiled Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 26 Aug. 2021
  • Rising sophomores Frankie Collins and Kobe Bufkin played bit roles for most of the season and proved unreliable beyond the 3-point line.
    Michael Cohen, Detroit Free Press, 29 Apr. 2022
  • This means brands are working with unreliable data from the get-go.
    Peter Cohan, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2021
  • In any case, the Giants are simply unreliable right now.
    Richard Morin, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2022
  • Atlanta is one of the bellwethers of the league, so using them as a measuring stick for all 30 clubs in MLB is unreliable.
    Maury Brown, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2021
  • While the acuity of the protective gear shortage has lessened over the past few months, the supply chain is still unreliable.
    Star Tribune, 17 Nov. 2020
  • They are left with one slow and unreliable train a day between Springfield and Boston.
    Tom Condon, courant.com, 6 Sep. 2021
  • Once known as one of the best defenders in the sport, Rizzo’s defense became unreliable towards the end of the season.
    Ryan Canfield, Fox News, 2 Nov. 2024
  • China has seized on the turmoil to taunt the United States and label it an unreliable partner.
    Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2021
  • The reports have come from only a small number of users, most of them talking about it on Reddit, which can be an unreliable source.
    Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 24 Feb. 2024
  • The notion that there is some sort of immutable gold standard for truthful acting is deeply unreliable: cometh the hour, cometh the actor.
    Simon Callow, The New York Review of Books, 3 Aug. 2022
  • One thing Dorothy isn’t, at least in these pages: an unreliable narrator.
    Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2020
  • Then the Rangers’ bullpen (which at first had pitched well in relief of starter Nathan Eovaldi) reverted back to its unreliable self.
    Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 10 Sep. 2023
  • Here are things to consider The investor can lose a good chunk of his or her life savings buying stock based on unreliable claims.
    Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 26 Dec. 2020
  • So far this week, the Diamondbacks have not pitched well and their defense has been unreliable at best and sloppy at worst.
    Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 17 May 2022
  • Is Demko too unreliable with his health that his cap hit would be better spent upgrading the forward group?
    Harman Dayal, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
  • Devin Williams and Luke Weaver haven't been consistent in the late innings, and most of the other relievers have been either unreliable, injured, or both.
    Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 July 2025
  • Electricity and water are still unreliable in many areas.
    Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 21 July 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unreliable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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