undependable

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌʌndɪˈpɛndəbəl/ UK /ˌʌndɪˈpɛndəbəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
not able to be relied upon

His undependable car broke down again on the highway.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not able to be relied upon unreliable untrustworthy erratic fickle inconstant capricious

Opposites

dependable reliable trustworthy steadfast

Word family

Derived forms undependabilityundependably

Related forms depend dependable dependence

Etymology

From un- ('not') + dependable, from depend, from Old French dependre, from Latin dependere ('to hang down, hang from'), from de- ('down') + pendere ('to hang').

un- Old English dependere Latin pendere Latin *(s)pen- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

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# undependable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌʌndɪˈpɛndəbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌʌndɪˈpɛndəbəl/

## Meanings
1. not able to be relied upon

## Examples
- His undependable car broke down again on the highway.

## Synonyms
- unreliable
- untrustworthy
- erratic
- fickle
- inconstant
- capricious

## Antonyms
- dependable
- reliable
- trustworthy
- steadfast

## Derived Forms
- undependability
- undependably

## Related Forms
- depend
- dependable
- dependence

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: dependere
- Root: pendere
- Root: *(s)pen-

## Etymology
From un- ('not') + dependable, from depend, from Old French dependre, from Latin dependere ('to hang down, hang from'), from de- ('down') + pendere ('to hang').

## AI Etymology
Undependable comes from un- ('not') + dependable, from depend, from Old French dependre, from Latin dependere ('to hang down, hang from'), from de- ('down') + pendere ('to hang'). The historical chain includes Old English un-, Latin dependere, Latin pendere, and Proto-Indo-European *(s)pen-. The quoted older senses, "not", "to hang down, hang from", "down", and "to hang", supply the semantic anchors for undependable. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word undependable carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "not able to be relied upon". English derivatives include undependability and undependably; related English forms include depend, dependable, and dependence. The result is a adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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undependable

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