inconsistency
/ˌɪnkənˈsɪstənsi/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɪnkənˈsɪstənsi/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌin-kən-ˈsi-stən(t)-sē/ (ame, mw)
inconsistency — noun
- inconsistencysingular
- inconsistenciesplural
1. the situation where two or more facts, ideas, or statements do not fit together
the situation where two or more facts, ideas, or statements do not fit together properly because one contradicts another, or a specific case of this kind of contradiction.
The judge noticed several inconsistencies between Justin's first statement and his courtroom testimony.
inconsistency between X and Y for contradicting facts
There was a clear inconsistency in the report, with one chapter saying sales rose and another saying they fell.
inconsistency in X with explanatory clause
Lucía pointed out a small inconsistency between the recipe's photo and the list of ingredients.
The lawyer used the inconsistency in the witness account to win the case for Dario.
There is some inconsistency between the company's safety promises and what workers see daily.
- contradiction
stronger; two ideas directly oppose each other
- discrepancy
common for numbers, accounts, or figures that should match but don't
- mismatch
informal; suggests two things that should fit but don't line up
- consistency
ideas, statements, or facts that all agree
- coherence
ideas that hold together as a logical whole
文法句型
inconsistency between X and Y
inconsistency in X
用法筆記
Subject is usually an idea, statement, report, story, or set of rules — something that can be checked against other content for agreement. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is about a logical clash between two pieces of information at a single moment, not about behaviour changing over time.
常見錯誤
2. the quality of changing too often in behaviour, quality, or results, so that oth
the quality of changing too often in behaviour, quality, or results, so that others cannot rely on you to perform the same way each time — for example, a player who scores well in one match and badly in the next, or a factory whose products vary in quality.
The coach was worried about Tamar's inconsistency in front of the goal this season.
inconsistency in [skill area] for sports performance
Customers complained about the inconsistency in the quality of the bakery's bread.
inconsistency in the quality of [product]
Tariro's inconsistency at work made it hard for the manager to plan the weekly schedule.
There is too much inconsistency in how each branch of the bank treats new customers.
Ishaan apologised for the inconsistency in his training and promised to come to practice every day.
- unreliability
stronger; suggests you cannot count on the person or thing at all
- variability
neutral; just means the results change, not always bad
- unevenness
softer; suggests quality goes up and down without being terrible
- reliability
the quality of always doing what is expected
- consistency
steady performance or behaviour over time
文法句型
inconsistency in X's performance
inconsistency in [behaviour/quality]
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person, team, product, or service whose results vary over time. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about behaviour or quality changing across moments, not about two pieces of information clashing at one moment.