tried

Compared meaning: trustworthy, able to be relied on (adjective).

比较义项：可靠的，值得信赖的（形容词）。

• reliable

  The most general, neutral term for something or someone that can be trusted; used broadly for people, machines, sources, or systems in almost any context.

  语气最中性、适用范围最广的词，可以形容人、机器、消息来源或系统等几乎任何可靠的事物。

  This old truck is reliable; it has never broken down in ten years.

  这辆旧卡车很可靠；十年来从未出过故障。

• dependable

  Leans toward personal character, describing someone you can always count on to keep promises or show up, more often used for people than for machines or facts.

  更偏重个人品格，形容一个人总是信守承诺、能够依靠，比起机器或事实，更常用来形容人。

  My neighbor is dependable; he waters my plants every day I'm away.

  我的邻居很可靠；我不在的时候他每天都会帮我浇花。

• tried 本词

  Stresses that something has been tested many times over years and proven itself, rather than simply seeming trustworthy; it almost always appears in the fixed phrases 'tried and tested' or 'tried and true' rather than describing a person alone.

  强调经过多年反复测试并证明确实可靠，而不仅仅是看起来值得信任；几乎总是以固定搭配“tried and tested”（久经考验）或“tried and true”（历经考验、真实可靠）出现，很少单独用来形容人。

  Grandma's tried and tested remedy for a cold really does work.

  奶奶那久经考验的感冒偏方确实管用。

Reliable, dependable, and tried all mean trustworthy. Reliable is the most general, used for people, machines, or sources. Dependable leans toward personal character, someone you can always count on. Tried stresses years of testing, usually in the phrases 'tried and tested' or 'tried and true'.

这三个词都表示“可靠、值得信赖”，语气相近，但 dependable 更强调个人品格上始终可以依靠，reliable 用法最广，可以形容人、机器、消息来源等几乎任何可靠的事物；tried 强调经过多次考验、久经验证，常以“tried and tested”（久经考验）或“tried and true”（历经考验、真实可靠）的搭配出现，很少单独修饰人。另外，tried 与动词 try（尝试）的过去式同形，这里比较的是形容词义，不涉及“尝试”这一动词含义。