dependable

dependable — adjective

1. A dependable person or thing can be trusted to fulfil what is expected and will

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

A dependable person or thing can be trusted to fulfil what is expected and will not let you down.

Example

Lucía is a dependable friend who always shows up when she says she will.

attributive: dependable + [person noun]

This old car may not be fast, but it is surprisingly dependable.

predicative: be + adverb + dependable

Common collocations
  • dependable + friend / colleague / employee / worker
  • dependable + car / vehicle / equipment / system / service
  • dependable + source / supply / method / result
Synonyms
  • reliable

    nearly identical in meaning; slightly more common for machines and systems

  • trustworthy

    stronger moral dimension; used for people far more often than for objects

  • responsible

    emphasizes a sense of duty or obligation rather than consistent performance

  • consistent

    focuses on sameness of behaviour over time, without the emotional sense of trust

Antonyms
  • unreliable

    the most direct opposite; cannot be trusted to perform consistently

  • undependable

    the exact negative form, though less common than 'unreliable'

Grammar Patterns

dependable + noun

be + dependable

very/highly + dependable

Common Mistakes

He is a very dependent employee who always finishes his work.
He is a very dependable employee who always finishes his work.
'dependent' means relying on others; 'dependable' means others can rely on you.
This software is very trustworthy — it has never crashed.
This software is very dependable
it has never crashed.' — 'trustworthy' is best for people's honesty; 'dependable' fits machines or systems better.

Word family

  • depend
    verbB1
  • dependent
    adjectiveB1
  • dependence
    nounB2
  • dependably
    adverbC1
  • dependability
    nounC1
  • undependable
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Dependable and reliable are very close synonyms, though reliable is slightly more common when describing machines, systems, or objective performance. Trustworthy carries a stronger moral or ethical meaning — it implies honesty and integrity, so it is used for people far more often than for objects. Responsible emphasises a sense of duty or obligation; a responsible person does what they should do because they feel it is right. Consistent focuses purely on sameness of performance over time, without the emotional or relational meaning that dependable carries. For example, you might call a car dependable or reliable, but you would not call it trustworthy or responsible. However, you could describe a colleague as dependable, reliable, responsible, or trustworthy depending on which quality you want to highlight.

dependablereliabletrustworthyresponsibleconsistent

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • highly
  • extremely
  • utterly
  • surprisingly
  • perfectly
  • fairly
  • reasonably
  • always
  • not very

Prepositions

  • in
  • for
  • as

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Dependable comes from the verb 'depend', which traces back to Latin 'dependere' — from 'de-' (down) and 'pendere' (to hang). The original idea was to 'hang down from' or 'be supported by' something. The suffix '-able' means 'capable of being'. So dependable literally means 'capable of being hung from' — something you can safely suspend your trust from, just as you would hang your weight on a strong rope.