inconsistent

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: in=con=sist=ent

CIDE DICTIONARY

inconsistent, a. [Pref. in- not + consistent: cf. F. inconsistant.].

•  Not consistent; showing inconsistency; irreconcilable; contradictory, or having contradictory implications; discordant; at variance, esp. as regards character, sentiment, or action; incompatible; incongruous.  [1913 Webster]

  "Compositions of this nature . . . show that wisdom and virtue are far from being inconsistent with politeness and good humor."  [1913 Webster]
•  Not exhibiting uniformity of sentiment, steadiness to principle, etc.; unequal; fickle; changeable.  [1913 Webster]

  "Ah, how unjust to nature, and himself,
  Is thoughtless, thankless, inconsistent man."

Syn. -- Incompatible; incongruous; irreconcilable; discordant; repugnant; contradictory.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

inconsistent, adj.
1 acting at variance with one's own principles or former conduct.
2 (often foll. by with) not in keeping; discordant, incompatible.
3 (of a single thing) incompatible or discordant; having self-contradictory parts.

Derivative

inconsistency n. (pl. -ies). inconsistently adv.

THESAURUS

inconsistent

abnormal, absonant, absurd, adrift, adversative, adverse, adversive, afloat, aloof, alternating, amorphous, anomalous, antagonistic, anti, antipathetic, antithetic, antonymous, assorted, at cross-purposes, at odds, at variance, balancing, broken, capricious, changeable, changeful, changing, choppy, clashing, compensating, conflicting, confronting, contradictory, contradistinct, contrapositive, contrarious, contrary, contrary to reason, contrasted, contrasting, converse, counter, counterbalancing, counterpoised, countervailing, dead against, departing, desultory, detached, deviable, deviating, deviative, deviatory, different, differentiated, differing, disaccordant, disagreeing, disconnected, discontinuous, discordant, discrepant, discrete, discriminated, disjoined, disorderly, disparate, disproportionate, dissimilar, dissonant, distinct, distinguished, divaricate, divergent, diverging, divers, diverse, diversified, diversiform, dizzy, eccentric, erose, erratic, eyeball to eyeball, fallacious, fast and loose, faulty, fickle, fitful, flawed, flickering, flighty, flitting, fluctuating, freakish, gapped, giddy, heterogeneous, hostile, illogical, impetuous, impulsive, in disagreement, inaccordant, inauthentic, incoherent, incommensurable, incommensurate, incompatible, inconclusive, incongruous, inconsequent, inconsequential, inconsonant, inconstant, indecisive, infirm, inharmonious, inimical, invalid, inverse, irrational, irreconcilable, irregular, irresolute, irresponsible, jagged, jerky, loose, lubricious, many, mazy, mercurial, moody, motley, multifarious, mutable, nonadherent, nonadhesive, noncoherent, noncohesive, nonconformist, nonscientific, nonstandard, nonuniform, not following, obverse, open, opposed, opposing, opposite, oppositional, oppositive, oppugnant, out of proportion, oxymoronic, paradoxical, paralogical, perverse, pluralistic, poles apart, poles asunder, ragged, rambling, reasonless, repugnant, restless, reverse, rough, roving, scatterbrained, self-annulling, self-contradictory, self-refuting, senseless, separate, separated, several, shapeless, shifting, shifty, shuffling, spasmodic, spineless, sporadic, squared off, temperamental, tenuous, ticklish, unaccountable, unadhesive, unauthentic, uncertain, uncoherent, uncohesive, unconformable, unconnected, uncontrolled, undependable, undisciplined, unequable, unequal, uneven, unfixed, unjoined, unlike, unorthodox, unphilosophical, unpredictable, unreasonable, unreliable, unrestrained, unscientific, unsettled, unstable, unstable as water, unstaid, unsteadfast, unsteady, unsystematic, untenacious, ununiform, vacillating, vagrant, variable, variant, varied, variegated, variform, various, varying, vicissitudinary, vicissitudinous, volatile, wandering, wanton, wavering, wavery, wavy, wayward, whimsical, widely apart, wishy-washy, without reason, worlds apart

ROGET THESAURUS

inconsistent

Caprice

N caprice, fancy, humor, whim, whimsy, whimsey, whimwham, crotchet, capriccio, quirk, freak, maggot, fad, vagary, prank, fit, flimflam, escapade, boutade, wild-goose chase, capriciousness, kink, capricious, erratic, eccentric, fitful, hysterical, full of whims, maggoty, inconsistent, fanciful, fantastic, whimsical, crotchety, kinky, particular, humorsome, freakish, skittish, wanton, wayward, contrary, captious, arbitrary, unconformable, penny wise and pound foolish, fickle, frivolous, sleeveless, giddy, volatile, by fits and starts, without rhyme or reason, nil fuit unquain sic inipar sibi, the deuce is in him.

Contrariety

N contrariety, contrast, foil, antithesis, oppositeness, contradiction, antagonism, clashing, repugnance, inversion, the opposite, the reverse, the inverse, the converse, the antipodes, the antithesis, the other extreme, contrary, contrarious, contrariant, opposite, counter, dead against, converse, reverse, opposed, antithetical, contrasted, antipodean, antagonistic, opposing, conflicting, inconsistent, contradictory, at cross purposes, negative, hostile, differing toto coelo, diametrically opposite, diametrically opposed, as opposite as black and white, as opposite as light and darkness, as opposite as fire and water, as opposite as the poles, as different as night and day, Hyperion to a satyr, quite the contrary, quite the reverse, no such thing, just the other way, tout au contraire, contrarily, contra, contrariwise, per contra, on the contrary, nay rather, vice versa, on the other hand, all concord's born of contraries, Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

& Sophistry

N intuition, instinct, association, hunch, gut feeling, presentiment, premonition, rule of thumb, superstition, astrology, faith (supposition), sophistry, paralogy, perversion, casuistry, jesuitry, equivocation, evasion, chicane, chicanery, quiddet, quiddity, mystification, special pleading, speciousness, nonsense, word sense, tongue sense, false reasoning, vicious reasoning, circular reasoning, petitio principii, ignoratio elenchi, post hoc ergo propter hoc, non sequitur, ignotum per ignotius, misjudgment, false teaching, sophism, solecism, paralogism, quibble, quirk, elenchus, elench, fallacy, quodlibet, subterfuge, subtlety, quillet, inconsistency, antilogy, a delusion, a mockery, and a snare, claptrap, cant, mere words, lame and impotent conclusion, meshes of sophistry, cobwebs of sophistry, flaw in an argument, weak point, bad case, overrefinement, hairsplitting, intuitive, instinctive, impulsive, independent of reason, anterior to reason, gratuitous, hazarded, unconnected, unreasonable, illogical, false, unsound, invalid, unwarranted, not following, inconsequent, inconsequential, inconsistent, absonous, absonant, unscientific, untenable, inconclusive, incorrect, fallacious, fallible, groundless, unproved, non sequitur, it does not follow, deceptive, sophistical, jesuitical, illusive, illusory, specious, hollow, plausible, ad captandum, evasive, irrelevant, weak, feeble, poor, flimsy, loose, vague, irrational, nonsensical, foolish, frivolous, pettifogging, quibbling, finespun, overrefined, at the end of one's tether, au bout de son latin, intuitively, by intuition, illogically, non constat, that goes for nothing.

Absurdity

N absurdity, absurdness, imbecility alogy, nonsense, utter nonsense, paradox, inconsistency, stultiloquy, stultiloquence, nugacity, blunder, muddle, bull, Irishism, Hibernicism, slipslop, anticlimax, bathos, sophism, farce, galimathias, amphigouri, rhapsody, farrago, betise, extravagance, romance, sciamachy, sell, pun, verbal quibble, macaronic, jargon, fustian, twaddle, gibberish, exaggeration, moonshine, stuff, mare's nest, quibble, self- delusion, vagary, tomfoolery, poppycock, mummery, monkey trick, boutade, escapade, absurd, nonsensical, preposterous, egregious, senseless, inconsistent, ridiculous, extravagant, quibbling, self-annulling, self- contradictory, macaronic, punning, foolish sophistical, unmeaning, without rhyme or reason, fantastic, Int, fiddlededee!, pish!, pho!, in the name of the Prophet--figs!, credat Judaeus Apella, tell it to the marines.

Folly

N imbecility folly, want of intelligence &c, want of intellect, shadowness, silliness, foolishness, imbecility, incapacity, vacancy of mind, poverty of intellect, weakness of intellect, clouded perception, poor head, apartments to let, stupidity, stolidity, hebetude, dull understanding, meanest capacity, shortsightedness, incompetence, one's weak side, not one's strong point, bias, infatuation, simplicity, puerility, babyhood, dotage, anility, second childishness, fatuity, idiocy, idiotism, driveling, folly, frivolity, irrationality, trifling, ineptitude, nugacity, inconsistency, lip wisdom, conceit, sophistry, giddiness, eccentricity, extravagance, rashness, act of folly, unintelligent, unintellectual, unreasoning, mindless, witless, reasoningless, brainless, halfbaked, having no head, not bright, inapprehensible, weak headed, addle headed, puzzle headed, blunder headed, muddle headed, muddy headed, pig headed, beetle headed, buffle headed, chuckle headed, mutton headed, maggoty headed, grossheaded, beef headed, fat witted, fat-headed, weak-minded, feeble-minded, dull minded, shallow minded, lack- brained, rattle-brained, rattle headed, half witted, lean witted, short witted, dull witted, blunt-witted, shallow-pated, clod-pated, addle- pated, addle-brained, dim-sighted, short-sighted, thick-skulled, weak in the upper story, shallow, borne, weak, wanting, soft, sappy, spoony, dull, dull as a beetle, stupid, heavy, insulse, obtuse, blunt, stolid, doltish, asinine, inapt, prosaic, hebetudinous, childish, child-like, infantine, infantile, babyish, babish, puerile, anile, simple, old-womanish, fatuous, idiotic, imbecile, driveling, blatant, babbling, vacant, sottish, bewildered, blockish, unteachable Boeotian, Boeotic, bovine, ungifted, undiscerning, unenlightened, unwise, unphilosophical, apish, simious, foolish, silly, senseless, irrational, insensate, nonsensical, inept, maudlin, narrow-minded, bigoted, giddy, rash, eccentric, foolish, unwise, injudicious, improper, unreasonable, without reason, ridiculous, absurd, idiotic, silly, stupid, asinine, ill-imagined, ill-advised, ill-judged, ill-devised, mal entendu, inconsistent, irrational, unphilosophical, extravagant, sleeveless, idle, pointless, useless, inexpedient, frivolous, Davus sum non, a fool's bolt is soon shot clitellae bovi sunt im, fools rush in where angels fear to tread, il n' a ni bouche ni eperon, the bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, to varnish nonsense with the charms of sound.