\Re*li"a*ble\ (r?-l?"?-b'l), a.
Suitable or fit to be relied on; worthy of dependance or
reliance; trustworthy. ``A reliable witness to the truth of
the miracles.'' --A. Norton.
      The best means, and most reliable pledge, of a higher
      object.                                  --Coleridge.
      According to General Livingston's humorous account, his
      own village of Elizabethtown was not much more
      reliable, being peopled in those agitated times by
      ``unknown, unrecommended strangers, guilty-looking
      Tories, and very knavish Whigs.''        --W. Irving.
Note: Some authors take exception to this word, maintaining
      that it is unnecessary, and irregular in formation. It
      is, however, sanctioned by the practice of many careful
      writers as a most convenient substitute for the phrase
      to be relied upon, and a useful synonym for
      trustworthy, which is by preference applied to persons,
      as reliable is to things, such as an account,
      statement, or the like. The objection that adjectives
      derived from neuter verbs do not admit of a passive
      sense is met by the citation of laughable, worthy of
      being laughed at, from the neuter verb to laugh;
      available, fit or able to be availed of, from the
      neuter verb to avail; dispensable, capable of being
      dispensed with, from the neuter verb to dispense. Other
      examples might be added. -- {Re*li"a*ble*ness}, n. --
      {Re*li"a*bly}, adv.