as in erratic
likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly
I wouldn't count on him to show up for the play—he's pretty unreliable. She drives her car locally, but worries it's too unreliable for longer trips.
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Recent Examples of unreliable
Khan said that the building forced tenants to rely on their own portable electric heaters plugged into unreliable electrical wiring, which created fire hazards.
—
Nikki Dementri, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026
Lorne is not an unreliable narrator.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
Such a step is taken when a study may have errors or include unreliable information.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 15 Apr. 2026
With Washington perceived as an increasingly unreliable protector, the Gulf states may seek greater security and economic cooperation elsewhere.
—Jeffrey Taliaferro, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unreliable
Nikki Dementri, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026
Lorne is not an unreliable narrator.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
Such a step is taken when a study may have errors or include unreliable information.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 15 Apr. 2026
With Washington perceived as an increasingly unreliable protector, the Gulf states may seek greater security and economic cooperation elsewhere.
—Jeffrey Taliaferro, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unreliable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unreliable
Adjective
-
Roughly 61% say Trump has become more erratic with age, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released in February.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Cuomo and other employees were concerned by Fahim’s bizarre and erratic behavior — along with his poor personal hygiene — and unsuccessfully tried to get the leaders of the firm to fire him.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The early returns were shaky, but with some adjustments — and with some time — Brown has brought the best version of his All-Star center to the floor.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
One possibility is that the ceasefire lasts only two weeks, is shaky throughout – as seen with Israel’s bombing of Lebanon after the ceasefire was declared – and war resumes.—
Donald Heflin,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In addition to reinforcing the fiduciary standards that are already in place for community associations, this will help to establish stronger grounds for claims involving unilateral acts by directors, inadequate reserve planning, inconsistent rules enforcement, or failures in management oversight.—
Evonne Andris,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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Maybe—but the effects are likely to be modest and inconsistent.—
Patricia Weiser,
Verywell Health,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And then there’s Kimberly’s home life, which features an emotionally and physically fragile mom preparing to give birth and an undependable alcoholic father.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Yasmin, who was ousted from Pierpoint after a tabloid scandal involving her publishing-magnate father threatened to sully the bank by association, has turned to another undependable man for salvation, proposing to an aristocratic failson called Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington).—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Pearl Girls aren’t favored by the Plums, who see them as untrustworthy.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The conservative election group is advocating for paper ballots, saying Georgia’s voting machines are untrustworthy.—
Caleb Groves,
AJC.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
His practice hinges on improvisation, resulting in blunt, expressive, and unpredictable work.—
Maxie Younger,
Pitchfork,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Baby Reindeer was hardly a laugh riot, but mortifying humor is still humor and, with episodic running times in the 30-minute range, the show had a charging, unpredictable momentum.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Flying is the company’s second Nova-C lander named Athena featuring NASA’s PRIME-1 drill, to land a drill and mass spectrometer near the south pole of the moon in order to demonstrate the feasibility of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and measure the volatile content of subsurface samples.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 Apr. 2026
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The story centers on a young couple (Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny) whose lives become entangled with their volatile boss and his wife (Isaac and Carey Mulligan) after witnessing a disturbing incident at an elite country club.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
19 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This progress addresses the requirement for high oxidation states, which typically makes material growth unstable under conditions that allow for superconductivity.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Apr. 2026
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Her very reliable and efficient assistant Eunice (Seoyeon Jang) stands by her side but curries the jealous attention of unstable Ashley.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unreliable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unreliable. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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