vagary
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of vagary
1565–75, in sense “wandering journey”; apparently < Latin vagārī to wander
Explanation
A vagary is an unexpected and unpredictable change, and the word is usually used in the plural. You might know from experience that the vagaries of winter weather make planning a vacation in February a risky proposition. Vagary traces back to the Latin root meaning "wander," and you can think of a vagary as something that wanders. Events or situations that seem to change at random have vagaries. Whether the hottest new boy band will succeed or not is dependent on the vagaries of teenage enthusiasms. The vagaries of the real estate market will determine whether that swamp property you just bought is a gold mine or a disaster.
Vocabulary lists containing vagary
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Christopher Columbus' Diary: The First Voyage
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A Separate Peace
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But the senators say a vagary in the way the law is written means they can seek another term, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 26, 2023
“Unconscionable impatience. What Matthew Arnold spoke about: our sick hurry, our divided aims. Now, this sick hurry is terrible. And Fred stands against that vagary beautifully.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2020
It covers the whole wide world of early-19th-century trade, and it evinces a worldly acceptance of human disparity and vagary.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 16, 2018
Normally, this would result in a total solar eclipse, but for a vagary of orbital mechanics: It happened when the Moon was near apogee, the point in its orbit when it’s farthest from Earth.
From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2013
As Sullivan saw it, “Burnham came out of his somnambulistic vagary and joined in. He was keen enough to understand that ‘Uncle Dick’”—meaning Hunt—“had done him a needed favor.”
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
And if so, just who, on a day when the vagaries of links golf on the blustery Lancashire coast propelled several players into realistic contention and just as quickly swept their aspirations aside.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Kering has long been heavily reliant on Gucci and, by extension, on the vagaries of the fashion cycle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
The vagaries of that schedule will require flexibility and depth and will likely force Dos Santos to rotate players in and out of the lineup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026
The space-equipment supplier’s rapid rise reflects just how much small aerospace and defense stocks depend on the vagaries of geopolitics and government contracts.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
Everybody was essentially himself—was riotously busy fulfilling the vagaries of human nature.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
