Standard Lemma guide

inconsistent

adj · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌɪnkənˈsɪstənt/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N K AH0 N S IH1 S T AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not consistent:

Not compatible (with another thing); incompatible, discrepant, at odds.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • His account of the evening was inconsistent with the security-camera footage.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: consistent

2

adj

Meaning 2

Not consistent:

Lacking internal consistency; self-contradicting; not compatible with itself.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He gave an inconsistent account of the evening, saying he called her before eight, but later that he had not talked to her until after nine.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spotty, mixed

Antonyms: consistent

3

adj

Meaning 3

Not consistent:

Not consistent or coherent in thought or behavior.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: consistent

4

adj

Meaning 4

Not consistent:

Having the property that a contradiction can be derived.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: consistent

5

adjective

Meaning 5

displaying a lack of consistency

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • inconsistent statements cannot both be true at the same time
  • inconsistent with the roadmap

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: consistent

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

not in agreement

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: discrepant

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

not capable of being made consistent or harmonious

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • inconsistent accounts

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English consistent English inconsistent From in- + consistent.

Across languages

Translations

54 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: несъвместим (nesǎvmestim) — not compatible
  • German: nicht kompatibel (mit) — not compatible
  • German: nicht vereinbar (mit) — not compatible
  • German: fremd — not compatible
  • Hungarian: ellentmondó — not compatible
  • Hungarian: összeegyeztethetetlen — not compatible
  • Latin: alienus — not compatible
  • Bulgarian: непоследователен (neposledovatelen) — not consistent
  • Bulgarian: противоречив (protivorečiv) — not consistent
  • Catalan: inconsistent — not consistent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不一致的 (bù yīzhì de) — not consistent
  • Czech: nekonzistentní — not consistent
  • Esperanto: malakorda — not consistent
  • Finnish: epäjohdonmukainen — not consistent
  • Finnish: inkonsistentti — not consistent
  • Finnish: epäkonsistentti — not consistent
  • Finnish: vaihteleva — not consistent
  • French: incohérent — not consistent
  • French: incompatible — not consistent
  • Galician: inconsistente — not consistent
  • Georgian: შეუთავსებელი (šeutavsebeli) — not consistent
  • German: inkonsistent — not consistent
  • German: widersprüchlich — not consistent
  • German: stimmt nicht überein — not consistent
  • Greek: ανακόλουθος (anakólouthos) — not consistent
  • Ancient Greek: ἀνακόλουθος (anakólouthos) — not consistent
  • Hungarian: inkonzisztens — not consistent
  • Hungarian: következetlen — not consistent
  • Indonesian: inkonsisten — not consistent
  • Italian: inconsistente — not consistent
  • Latin: inconstans — not consistent
  • Māori: hārakiraki — not consistent
  • Norwegian Bokmål: inkonsekvent — not consistent
  • Norwegian Bokmål: selvmotsigende — not consistent
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: inkonsekvent — not consistent
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sjølvmotseiande — not consistent
  • Occitan: inconsistent — not consistent
  • Plautdietsch: onbestendich — not consistent
  • Polish: niekonsekwentny — not consistent
  • Polish: niespójny — not consistent
  • Polish: sprzeczny — not consistent
  • Portuguese: inconsistente — not consistent
  • Romanian: neconsistent — not consistent
  • Romanian: inconsistent — not consistent
  • Russian: рассогласованный (rassoglasovannyj) — not consistent
  • Russian: непостоя́нный (nepostojánnyj) — not consistent
  • Russian: непосле́довательный (neposlédovatelʹnyj) — not consistent
  • Russian: противоречи́вый (protivorečívyj) — not consistent
  • Russian: неусто́йчивый (neustójčivyj) — not consistent
  • Russian: изме́нчивый (izménčivyj) — not consistent
  • Scottish Gaelic: mì-chòrdail — not consistent
  • Spanish: inconsistente — not consistent
  • Spanish: inconsecuente — not consistent
  • Swedish: inkonsekvent — not consistent
Real reading context

inconsistent in complete knowledge articles