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
Elsewhere, particularly in autocracies, the data is simply too unreliable to use.
—
Duncan Madden, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Carbon fiber has not been used on this type of deep-diving sub before and is considered to be unreliable under pressure due to delamination.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 Aug. 2025
As the department itself made clear, this meant that the statistic was an unreliable barometer of the restaurant industry’s health.
—Eyal Press, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
The world is not going to wait for the U.S. to hash out its chaos, and other countries are already moving to reorient parts of their manufacturing and trade schemes to circumvent an unreliable United States.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreliable
Duncan Madden, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Carbon fiber has not been used on this type of deep-diving sub before and is considered to be unreliable under pressure due to delamination.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 Aug. 2025
As the department itself made clear, this meant that the statistic was an unreliable barometer of the restaurant industry’s health.
—Eyal Press, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
The world is not going to wait for the U.S. to hash out its chaos, and other countries are already moving to reorient parts of their manufacturing and trade schemes to circumvent an unreliable United States.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreliable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unreliable
Adjective
-
The tech industry can be easy to hate—the erratic CEOs, the biased algorithms, the environmental damage.—
Sarah Rose Etter,
The Atlantic,
6 Aug. 2025
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As observed through their youngest daughter as the film’s protagonist, a family of six’s move to a new home seems to trigger erratic, dangerous behavior in their oldest son.—
Josh Slater-Williams,
IndieWire,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Leadership has never been easy, but the terrain leaders stand on today feels shakier than ever.—
Jennifer Jay Palumbo,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
-
This is an important offseason for Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr after a shaky sophomore NBA campaign.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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And not all retail data strategies are created equally as many organizations are plagued with data silos, subpar data quality, inconsistent data, and other challenges.—
Gary Drenik,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Strong has had some nice moments during camp, and though inconsistent, there is enough potential there to not risk putting him on waivers.—
Joe Buscaglia,
New York Times,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
But while the stock market is often a fickle friend, as are commodities such as oil and natural gas, wheat and corn, part of what was so shocking in 2022 was the simultaneous slump in government and corporate bonds, which proved as undependable as stocks.—
,
CNBC,
18 Feb. 2025
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Food, water and other resources would have to be shipped from home, at distances that make the supply frighteningly undependable.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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If employment data is untrustworthy, what about the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate due out this Tuesday or the subsequent one on Sept. 12?—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
10 Aug. 2025
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But here’s the issue: Good intentions don’t work if the system feels unfair or untrustworthy.—
Murugan Anandarajan,
The Conversation,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The best time for aurora spotting is 2 am, when the sky is likely to be the darkest, but since the arrival of the solar storm is unpredictable, it's recommended to look throughout the night for the event.—
Staff Author,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Aug. 2025
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Renewables may be homegrown, but their output is inherently unpredictable.—
Andrew Saunders,
Fortune,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Not too happy about the volatile nature of PLTR stock?—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1%, up from 2.9% in June.—
Christopher Rugaber,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Although the emergency warning was reduced to a less urgent heavy rain warning on Monday afternoon, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned that the soil had become unstable due to the precipitation, leaving the region at an elevated risk of landslides even without excessive rain.—
Trisha Mukherjee,
ABC News,
11 Aug. 2025
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People have been urged to avoid entering possibly unstable buildings as aftershocks continued to shake the area, according to the Times.—
Abigail Adams,
People.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unreliable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unreliable. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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