Meaning & use
consistency
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Meanings
noununcountable
The quality of staying the same in behavior, quality, or results over time.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: consistency is key, not a consistency.
Patterns
- consistency in something
- consistency of something
The coach values consistency over occasional brilliance.
Her consistency in training paid off at the finals.
The restaurant is known for the consistency of its food.
nouncountable or uncountable
The thickness or texture of a mixture, such as a sauce or paste.
Grammar: Often used with a describing word: a smooth consistency.
Patterns
- the consistency of something
Stir until the batter has the consistency of thick cream.
The paint was too runny, so I changed its consistency.
The soup has a smooth consistency.
noununcountable
The state of different statements or parts agreeing and not contradicting each other.
Grammar: Often followed by between or with: consistency between the two reports.
Patterns
- consistency between things
- consistency with something
The lawyer pointed out a lack of consistency in the witness's account.
We need consistency between the spelling and the style guide.
Editors check the draft for consistency.
Word forms
| plural | consistencies |
|---|
Common combinations
- lack of consistency
- A lack of consistency hurt the team's results.
- maintain consistency
- The brand works to maintain consistency across all its stores.
- smooth consistency
- Blend the mixture to a smooth consistency.
- consistency is key
- For learning a language, consistency is key.
- thick consistency
- The gravy should have a thick consistency.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reliability
- Reliability stresses being dependable when needed, while consistency stresses behaving or performing the same way each time.
- uniformity
- Uniformity means everything is the same at one moment, whereas consistency is sameness over time or between statements.
- steadiness
- Steadiness suggests calm, unchanging movement or character, but consistency can also apply to texture and logic.
- thickness
- Thickness is only physical, while consistency also covers the overall feel of a mixture.
Opposites
Word family
- consistent adjective
- always behaving or happening in the same way
- consistently adverb
- every time, without change
- inconsistency noun
- a lack of agreement or sameness
- inconsistent adjective
- changing or contradicting
Commonly confused: consistency or consistence? consistency or persistence?
consistency vs consistence
Consistence is an older, rarer variant. In modern English use consistency.
consistency vs persistence
Persistence means continuing in spite of difficulty, while consistency means staying the same.
Practice
Add milk slowly until the dough reaches a smooth ___ that is neither too stiff nor too sticky.
Choose one answer.
Consistency here means the texture of a mixture. Density refers to mass per volume, and persistence and assistance do not describe texture.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “consistency”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.