undependable

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Proto-Germanic *un-

Proto-West Germanic *un-

Old English un-

Middle English un-

English un-

English depend

Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ābilis

Old French -ablebor.

Middle English -able

English -able

English dependable

English undependable

From un- + dependable.

Adjective

undependable (comparative more undependable, superlative most undependable)

1. Not dependable.
   • 1998, Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents, HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP (2019), page 23:

     ‘These vehicles tended to be old and undependable, but some people had them.’

Synonyms

• flakey
• sporadic
• unreliable

Antonyms

• dependable

Translations

not to be relied upon

• Bulgarian: ненадежден (bg) (nenadežden)
• French: pas fiable m or f
• Māori: kahurakiraki, kōnukenuke