inconsistent

Changing in quality or behavior, so people cannot depend on it.

• The service here is inconsistent.
• His inconsistent performances cost him a place on the team.
• Why has the quality been so inconsistent lately?

Similar words: unreliable, uneven, erratic

Opposites: consistent

Common phrases: inconsistent results, inconsistent performance, inconsistent service

Not agreeing with another fact, statement, or rule.

• Her story is inconsistent with the evidence.
• These figures are inconsistent with last year's report.
• The new rules seem inconsistent with our policy.

How to use it: inconsistent with something (His explanation was inconsistent with the facts.)

Similar words: incompatible, conflicting

Opposites: consistent

Common phrases: inconsistent with something, inconsistent accounts

Containing parts or statements that cannot all be true together.

• His account was internally inconsistent.
• The argument is inconsistent and difficult to follow.
• She gave an inconsistent story about when she arrived.

Similar words: self-contradictory, contradictory

Opposites: consistent

Common phrases: inconsistent story, inconsistent argument, internally inconsistent