Meanings
comparative more undependable · superlative most undependable
- Not dependable.
‘These vehicles tended to be old and undependable, but some people had them.’
1998, Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents, HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP (2019), page 23Synonyms: flakey, sporadic, unreliable
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot dependable.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenot worthy of reliance or trust
adjectiveliable to be erroneous or misleading
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Proto-Indo-European*de
- Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
- Proto-Italic*dē
- Latindē
- Latindē-
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)pend-
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)pn̥d-éh₁ye-ti
- Proto-Italic*pendējō
- Proto-Italic*pendēō
- Latinpendeō
- Latindependeō
- Old Frenchdependre
- Middle Englishdependen
- Englishdepend
- Englishdependable
- Englishundependable
From un- + dependable.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian ненадежден
- ненадежден (nenadežden)not to be relied upon
French pas fiable
- pas fiablenot to be relied upon
Māori kahurakiraki, kōnukenuke
- kahurakirakinot to be relied upon
- kōnukenukenot to be relied upon
Cite this entry
undependable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undependable
“undependable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undependable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “undependable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undependable.
Source: undependable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.