RELIABLE

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does reliable mean? 

• RELIABLE (adjective)
  The adjective RELIABLE has 3 senses:

1. worthy of reliance or trust

2. worthy of being depended on

3. conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief

  Familiarity information: RELIABLE used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RELIABLE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Worthy of reliance or trust

Synonyms:

dependable; reliable

Context example:

a dependable worker

Similar:

certain; sure (reliable in operation or effect)

tested; time-tested; tried; tried and true (tested and proved to be reliable)

undeviating (used of values and principles; not subject to change; steady)

Also:

trustworthy; trusty (worthy of trust or belief)

Antonym:

unreliable (not worthy of reliance or trust)

Derivation:

reliability; reliableness (the quality of being dependable or reliable)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Worthy of being depended on

Synonyms:

dependable; honest; reliable; true

Context example:

I would be true for there are those who trust me

Similar:

trustworthy; trusty (worthy of trust or belief)

Derivation:

reliability; reliableness (the quality of being dependable or reliable)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief

Synonyms:

authentic; reliable

Context example:

reliable information

Similar:

trustworthy; trusty (worthy of trust or belief)

Derivation:

reliability; reliableness (the quality of being dependable or reliable)

 Context examples 

Some of the information is reliable and up to date; some is not.

(Evaluating Health Information, NIH: National Library of Medicine)

The ability to create and maintain reliable quantum circuits is the key to creating more complex devices, and, ultimately, quantum communication systems and networks able to interact with conventional electronics.

(Scientists ‘Teleport’ Data between Chips for First Time, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Now, a simple, rapid and reliable test can determine the nitrogen amount in soil.

(New Test Can Determine Nitrogen Levels in Soil, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

G1.9+0.3 belongs to the Type Ia category, an important class of supernovas exhibiting reliable patterns in their brightness that make them valuable tools for measuring the rate at which the universe is expanding.

(Trigger for Milky Way’s Youngest Supernova Identified, NASA)

An international set of guidelines that helps make sure that the results of a clinical trial are reliable and that the patients are protected.

(GCP, NCI Dictionary)

There are no reliable morphologic criteria to distinguish between benign and malignant paragangliomas.

(Paraganglioma, NCI Thesaurus)

A project to develop standards for the collection and analysis of patient-reported health status data using a system of highly reliable, precise measures for physical, mental, and social well-being.

(Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System, NCI Thesaurus)

Earth's magnetic field seems steady and true — reliable enough to navigate by.

(Earth's last magnetic field reversal took far longer than once thought, National Science Foundation)

Of the twenty-seven products analysed, twenty-two were deemed accurate and reliable.

(Numerous home pregnancy tests recalled after false negative results reported, Wikinews)

The evolution of these devices centres mainly on the development of new ‘recognition chemicals’ that enable the relevant compounds to be monitored in the fastest, simplest, and most reliable way possible.

(Scientists design devices to calculate the concentration of potassium in water, of creatinine in urine, or glucose in blood using smartphone technology, University of Granada)