nepovjerljiv

Nepovjerljiv is a South Slavic adjective meaning not able to be trusted or not reliable. It can describe a person, a source, or information considered unlikely to be credible or worthy of confidence. The term is used in Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian, in informal speech as well as in journalism and legal language.

Etymology and sense: the word is formed with the negation prefix ne- attached to povjerljiv, derived from povjeriti, “to entrust.” Its core sense concerns trustworthiness and credibility rather than mere secrecy, and it is typically applied to entities that fail to deserve trust or to keep confidences.

Usage and examples: nepovjerljiv svjedok is commonly used to label a witness as unreliable. A nepovjerljiv izvor signifies a source whose information cannot be trusted. In journalistic or legal contexts, describing someone as nepovjerljiv signals doubt about the accuracy or honesty of their statements; the term stresses character rather than the mere act of sharing secrets. While the word can appear in discussions of confidentiality, more often speakers reserve povjerljiv for matters that are to be kept secret or treated as confidential.

Related terms and nuances: the opposite form povjerljiv indicates trustworthiness or confidentiality, and pouzdan or pouzdan izvor are common synonyms for reliability. The broader semantic field includes terms like pouzdanost (reliability) and povjerenje (trust). Nepovjerljiv is primarily used to describe people or sources whose credibility is in question.