capricious
[kuh-prish-uhs, -pree-shuhs]
- 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.
- Obsolete. fanciful or witty.
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Origin of capricious
Synonyms
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
anxietyvulnerabilityweaknessfluctuationuncertaintyinsecurityvolatilitypeculiarityidiosyncrasyweirdnessfoiblequirkoscillationalternationimmaturityvacillationhesitationpliancydisquietunsteadinessExamples from the Web for capriciousness
Contemporary Examples
More than anything, they reflect our uneasiness with the modern world, its complexity, and often its capriciousness.
Historical Examples
The capriciousness of love is also derived by him from an attachment to some god in a former world.
PhaedrusPlato
Nor is this capriciousness exclusively the attribute of the poetic Muse.
My capriciousness had exhausted his patience, and he frankly said that he washed his hands of the "case."
My LifeJosiah Flynt
It was the time to alarm him by coldness, by capriciousness.
The Grain Of DustDavid Graham Phillips
“Capriciousness, natural in her condition,” commented all, even Capitan Tiago.
The Social CancerJos Rizal
capricious
- characterized by or liable to sudden unpredictable changes in attitude or behaviour; impulsive; fickle
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for capriciousness
capricious
adj.
1590s, from French capricieux "whimsical" (16c.), from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio (see caprice). Related: Capriciously; capriciousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper