Reliable

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Reliable \Re*li"a*ble\ (r?-l?"?-b'l), a.
     Suitable or fit to be relied on; worthy of dependance or
     reliance; trustworthy. "A reliable witness to the truth of
     the miracles." --A. Norton.
     [1913 Webster]
  


           The best means, and most reliable pledge, of a higher
           object.                                  --Coleridge.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           According to General Livingston's humorous account, his
           own village of Elizabethtown was not much more
           reliable, being peopled in those agitated times by
           "unknown, unrecommended strangers, guilty-looking
           Tories, and very knavish Whigs."         --W. Irving.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Some authors take exception to this word, maintaining
           that it is unnecessary, and irregular in formation. It
           is, however, sanctioned by the practice of many careful
           writers as a most convenient substitute for the phrase
           to be relied upon, and a useful synonym for
           trustworthy, which is by preference applied to persons,
           as reliable is to things, such as an account,
           statement, or the like. The objection that adjectives
           derived from neuter verbs do not admit of a passive
           sense is met by the citation of laughable, worthy of
           being laughed at, from the neuter verb to laugh;
           available, fit or able to be availed of, from the
           neuter verb to avail; dispensable, capable of being
           dispensed with, from the neuter verb to dispense. Other
           examples might be added.
           [1913 Webster] -- {Re*li"a*ble*ness}, n. --
           {Re*li"a*bly}, adv.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  reliable
       adj 1: worthy of reliance or trust; "a reliable source of
              information"; "a dependable worker" [syn: {dependable}]
              [ant: {unreliable}, {unreliable}]
       2: conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief; "an
          authentic account by an eyewitness"; "reliable
          information" [syn: {authentic}]
       3: worthy of being depended on; "a dependable worker"; "an
          honest working stiff"; "a reliable source of information";
          "he was true to his word"; "I would be true for there are
          those who trust me" [syn: {dependable}, {honest}, {true(p)}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  138 Moby Thesaurus words for "reliable":
     absolute, accurate, adducible, admissible, apposite, attestative,
     attested, attestive, authentic, authenticated, balanced, based on,
     believable, calculable, certain, circumstantial, circumstantiated,
     cogent, colorable, compelling, conceivable, conclusive, confirmed,
     conscientious, convincing, cool, credible, cumulative, damning,
     decisive, dependable, determinative, documentary, documented,
     evidential, evidentiary, ex parte, eye-witness, factual, fail-safe,
     faithful, faithworthy, fast, fiducial, fiduciary, final, firm,
     firm as Gibraltar, firsthand, founded on, grounded on, guaranteed,
     harmless, hearsay, honest, honorable, imperturbable, implicit,
     in equilibrium, incontrovertible, incorruptible, indicative,
     indisputable, inerrable, inerrant, infallible, invincible,
     inviolable, invulnerable, irrefutable, irresistible, material,
     meaningful, nuncupative, overwhelming, plausible, predictable,
     presumptive, principled, probative, proven, punctilious, reputable,
     responsible, riskless, safe, secure, significant, solid, sound,
     stable, staunch, steadfast, steady, straight, substantial,
     suggestive, sure, surefire, symptomatic, telling, tenable, tested,
     to be trusted, tried, tried and true, true, trustable, trusted,
     trustworthy, trusty, undangerous, unerring, unexceptionable,
     unfailing, unfalse, unflappable, unflinching, unhazardous,
     unimpeachable, unperfidious, unperilous, unprecarious,
     unquestionable, unrisky, unshakable, untreacherous, unwavering,
     valid, validated, verified, warranteed, weighty, well-balanced,
     well-founded, well-grounded, without nerves, worthy of faith