Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Reliable \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.

Source : WordNet®

reliable
     adj 1: worthy of reliance or trust; "a reliable source of
            information"; "a dependable worker" [syn: {dependable}]
            [ant: {unreliable}, {unreliable}]
     2: conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief; "an
        authentic account by an eyewitness"; "reliable
        information" [syn: {authentic}]
     3: worthy of being depended on; "a dependable worker"; "an
        honest working stiff"; "a reliable source of information";
        "he was true to his word"; "I would be true for there are
        those who trust me" [syn: {dependable}, {honest}, {true(p)}]