capricious

[ kuh-prish-uhs, -pree-shuhs ]

adjective

1. subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic:

   He's such a capricious boss I never know how he'll react.

   Synonyms: mercurial, flighty, variable

   Antonyms: consistent, constant, steady

2. Obsolete. fanciful or witty.

capricious

/ kəˈprɪʃəs /

adjective

1. characterized by or liable to sudden unpredictable changes in attitude or behaviour; impulsive; fickle

Derived Forms

• caˈpriciously, adverb
• caˈpriciousness, noun

Other Words From

• ca·pri·cious·ly adverb
• ca·pri·cious·ness noun
• non·ca·pri·cious adjective
• non·ca·pri·cious·ly adverb
• un·ca·pri·cious adjective
• un·ca·pri·cious·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of capricious¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from French capricieux, from Italian capriccioso capriccioso

Synonym Study

See fickle.

Example Sentences

The list is as capricious—its bounds known only to its mysterious conceivers—as it is precise.

From The Daily Beast

But that visceral experience of the crowd as a capricious-yet-mindless entity has stayed with me ever since.

From The Daily Beast

He plays Wallace, a twentysomething medical school dropout who falls for Chantry (Zoe Kazan), a capricious animator/artist.

From The Daily Beast

The capricious and inhumane imprisoning of the feminist activists from Pussy Riot.

From The Daily Beast

We remain constantly curious about what great designers will turn out from their capricious artistic alchemy.

From The Daily Beast

The nose more particularly appears and disappears in a capricious way in the drawings of the same child.

From Project Gutenberg

But this sudden blow was a reminder that fate had been capricious to spoiled darlings before.

From Project Gutenberg

Mariamne had grown more fantastic, and capricious, and wayward than ever.

From Project Gutenberg

There was also a moral reaction, and the boy became capricious, irritable, and unlike his former self.

From Project Gutenberg

No, give me deserts or precipices,—anything fixed and solid is better than this capricious, ever-changing sea.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arbitrary
• careless
• erratic
• fickle
• flighty
• helter-skelter
• impulsive
• quirky
• temperamental
• unpredictable
• unreasonable
• unstable
• volatile
• wayward
• whimsical