Consistent Meaning
/kənˈsɪs.tənt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf a regularly occurring, dependable nature.
adjCompatible, accordant.
Sentence Examples
Your principles are not consistent with your actions.
You are not consistent in your actions.
A consistent approach to the problem
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ performance every week earned her the manager's trust.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her extremely positive performance remains ____ throughout the entire season, rarely showing any signs of weakness.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin cōnsistēntem, present participle of cōnsistō (“to agree with; to continue”), from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by, near, with”)) + sistō (“to cause to stand; to place, set”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti (“to be standing up; to be getting up”), from the root *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”)). By surface analysis, consist + -ent.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"That author [Mr. Boyle] has a particular Eſſay of the Atmoſphere of Conſiſtent Bodies; wherein he ſhews, that all, even ſolid, hard, ponderous, and fix'd Bodies, do exhale or emit Effluvia to a certain space all around 'em."
— 1728, E[phraim] Chambers, “Consistent Bodies”, in Cyclopædia: Or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; […] In Two Volumes, volumes I (A–H), London: […] James and John Knapton [et al.], →OCLC, page 309, column 2:
"When a philosopher adopted fully the Nominalist view of the signification of general language, retaining along with it the dictum de omni as the foundation of all reasoning, two such premisses fairly put together were likely, if he was a consistent thinker, to land him in rather startling conclusions."
— 1843, John Stuart Mill, “Of Ratiocination, or Syllogism”, in A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive, being a Connected View of the Principles of Evidence, and the Methods of Scientific Investigation. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], →OCLC, § 2, page 237:
"As I had once done thus in my breaking away from my Parents, ſo I could not be content now, but I muſt go and leave the happy View I had of being a rich and thriving Man in my new Plantation, only to purſue a raſh and immoderate Deſire of riſing faſter than the Nature of the Thing admitted; and thus I caſt my ſelf down again into the deepeſt Gulph of human Miſery that ever Man fell into, or perhaps could be conſiſtent with Life and a State Health of in the World."
— 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 43:
"When I do myself the honour of speaking to you next on the subject, I shall hope to receive a more favourable answer than you have now given me; though I am far from accusing you of cruelty at present, because I know it to be the established custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application, and perhaps you have even now said as much to encourage my suit as would be consistent with the true delicacy of the female character."
— 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XIX, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 251:
"Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that "nudges" our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control."
— 2012 January, Steven Sloman, “The Battle between Intuition and Deliberation [review of Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011) by Daniel Kahneman]”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 08 Jan 2012, page 74:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ performance every week earned her the manager's trust.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her extremely positive performance remains ____ throughout the entire season, rarely showing any signs of weakness.