What does "consistent" mean?
Objects or facts that are coexistent, or in agreement with one another.
Consistent
/kənˈsɪstənt/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Very common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Objects or facts that are coexistent, or in agreement with one another.
- Grammar: consistent is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: coherent, uniform, academic consistency, academic terminology.
- Useful contrasts: contradictory, eccentric, erratic.
- Usage evidence: Your principles are not consistent with your actions.
How to use "consistent"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "consistent" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "consistent" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "consistent" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "consistent" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "consistent" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "coherent" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "consistent", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Objects or facts that are coexistent, or in agreement with one another. in-plural, rare
"The Diurnal motion of the primum mobile, is it not from Eaſt to Weſt? And the annual motion of the Sun through the Ecliptick, is it not on the contrary from Weſt to Eaſt? How then can you make theſe motions being conferred on the Earth, of contraries to become conſiſtents?"
- 2 A kind of penitent who was allowed to assist at prayers, but was not permitted to receive the holy sacraments. historical
"[F]rom the fourth century onwards, the Eastern Church divided penitents into four classes. […] The consistentes (the last class—συστάντες, consistentes) "stand together with the faithful, and do not go out with the catechumens. Last comes participation in the sacraments (ἁγιασμάτων).""
Adjective
- 1 Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature.
"The consistent use of Chinglish in China can be very annoying, apart from some initial amusement."
- 2 Compatible, accordant.
"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."
- 3 Of a set of statements: such that no contradiction logically follows from them.
"When we ask whether ideas or terms are consistent or inconsistent with each other, the question really is, in what manner the relation presupposed between the ideas qualifies them for being combined as terms of a judgment."
Adjective
- 1 marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts wordnet
- 2 (sometimes followed by ‘with’) in agreement or consistent or reliable wordnet
- 3 the same throughout in structure or composition wordnet
- 4 capable of being reproduced wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Your principles are not consistent with your actions."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "consistent"?
Common synonyms include: coherent, uniform, academic consistency, academic terminology, academic tone, accordant.
How do you use "consistent" in a sentence?
Your principles are not consistent with your actions.
How do you pronounce "consistent"?
Pronounced /kənˈsɪstənt/.
Etymology
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)”)).