Dependable vs. Reliable

seashell

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Jul 23, 2005, 9:51:21 AM7/23/05

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What is the difference in meaning/usage between the terms "dependable"
and "reliable"?

Troy Steadman

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Jul 23, 2005, 10:30:50 AM7/23/05

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seashell wrote:
> What is the difference in meaning/usage between the terms "dependable"
> and "reliable"?

Flippin 'eck! You got a lot of homework!

"dependable" has a comfy resonance, something or someone who is
dependable will take care of all your requirements.

"reliable" is more impassive, something or someone who can be relied up
to do the task in hand but without an eye on the bigger picture.

An Accountant has to be reliable but he will need a dependable person
(a dog's body) to answer the phone and organise his appointments.

John Dean

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Jul 23, 2005, 12:59:32 PM7/23/05

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seashell wrote:
> What is the difference in meaning/usage between the terms "dependable"
> and "reliable"?

No difference worth commenting on.
--
John Dean
Oxford

Charles Riggs

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Jul 24, 2005, 4:45:59 AM7/24/05

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On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 08:51:21 -0500, seashe...@webtv.net (seashell)
wrote:

>What is the difference in meaning/usage between the terms "dependable"
>and "reliable"?

A person would more often be described as dependable than reliable. If
I say Fred is dependable, it could mean I find him trustworthy, not
only reliable. If I said he was reliable, I'd likely mean he was
generally on time, but not necessarily trustworthy.

An aside: Reliability, a related word, has a technical definition,
when applied to equipment, based on a formula that directly relates it
to the mean time between failures. Dependability has no such technical
definition.
--
Charles Riggs

cnuk...@gmail.com

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Nov 11, 2018, 2:24:35 AM11/11/18

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I differentiate them as follows:

...a dependable person will show up on time = dependable

...a reliable person produces expected / trustworthy results = reliable

Dependability speaks to whether or not they can be counted on to "show up".

Reliability speaks to the quality / competency of their efforts.

They are neither the same, nor do they need to be true / false if the other is true / false.

occam

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Nov 11, 2018, 5:32:18 AM11/11/18

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Sorry, your differentiation does not work for me. Can you imagine one
without the other? Can a person be dependable but not reliable, or vice
versa? (Answer: Nope.)

Madrigal Gurneyhalt

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Nov 11, 2018, 6:11:56 AM11/11/18

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You can always rely on a dependable person and depend on a reliable
person. There are situations of nuance but it doesn't make much sense
to maintain there's a clear difference.

Peter Moylan

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Nov 11, 2018, 9:03:19 AM11/11/18

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I haven't checked, but I assume that knucklehead was responding to an
ancient thread. What did the original participants conclude? (And why
did Google hide the original thread from knucklehead?)

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Peter T. Daniels

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Nov 11, 2018, 10:15:44 AM11/11/18

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Four messages on July 23, 2005 (the last one apparently early the next
morning, I suppose it depends on time zones). They all agreed with the
new replies.

When does "Google" (or whatever it is) give any indication that there's
something called a "thread" to such persons?