undependable
3
4.7
- adjective
- /ˌʌndɪˈpɛndəbl/
:
poco confiable
- I found the bus service to be undependable, often arriving late or not at all.
Examples
-
My friend is undependable when it comes to making plans; she often cancels at the last minute.
-
The instruments used to detect them are sometimes tricky and undependable.
Academic text (1994) -
Why wait for an uncertain and undependable process of economic growth to raise my living standard?
Academic text (1997) -
For example, if you are backing up to tape, you are using a highly undependable system.
Blog text (1) -
- You know how these stage men are, undependable, all things to all women, leaving a trail of broken hearts wherever they go.
-
I will not swap my certain glory for your undependable love.
-
The ducks, however, proved to be undependable.
Fiction book (1993) -
If they think for one minute that you're undependable, it's over.
-
Widely regarded as undependable and dangerous, Operation Sweep, like the police more generally, was felt to be actively working against the public interest.
Academic text (2009) -
He was undependable and irresponsible on the job and was reluctantly fired.
Academic text (2006)
Synonyms
71
4.1
Not able to be trusted to work or be right
21
4.8
Not honest or reliable with promises
1
5.0
People do not see it as safe or reliable
Not safe to depend on because they may fail or betray you
A situation where people do not feel safe and avoid honest conversation
Not believable or trustworthy
Antonyms
How Dependable
Surface Forms
Morphology
undependable = dependable (transparent) = un + depend + able
The adjective is formed by adding the negative prefix 'un-' to the adjective 'dependable', producing the straightforward opposite meaning.
Etymology
Undependable breaks into un- ('not'), depend ('to hang on' or 'to trust'), and -able ('can be'). Think of something you 'hang' on a person; if it might fall, that person is undependable, so the word means 'not reliable or trustworthy'.