erratic
- deviating from the usual or proper course in conduct or opinion; eccentric; queer: erratic behavior.
- having no certain or definite course; wandering; not fixed: erratic winds.
- Geology. noting or pertaining to a boulder or the like carried by glacial ice and deposited some distance from its place of origin.
- (of a lichen) having no attachment to the surface on which it grows.
- an erratic or eccentric person.
- Geology. an erratic boulder or the like.
Origin of erratic
Synonyms for erratic
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for erratic
Examples from the Web for erratically
Contemporary Examples of erratically
She quits her job as governor—some might say erratically—and supporters applaud her courage.
Historical Examples of erratically
They found a place where saltpeter was very thinly and erratically distributed.
Space PrisonTom Godwin
If He is merciful at all He cannot be merciful only spasmodically, erratically, or temporarily.
Expositor's Bible: The Song of SolomonWalter Adeney
Halvard was propelling them vigorously but erratically forward.
Wild OrangesJoseph Hergesheimer
Down plunged the vanquished monoplane, spirally, erratically.
Billy Barcroft, R.N.A.S.Percy F. Westerman
The flat pointed head seems to be in contact with the ground or very near to it as the animal moves about rapidly and erratically.
Field Study of Kansas Ant-Eating FrogHenry S. Fitch
erratic
- irregular in performance, behaviour, or attitude; inconsistent and unpredictable
- having no fixed or regular course; wandering
- a piece of rock that differs in composition, shape, etc, from the rock surrounding it, having been transported from its place of origin, esp by glacial action
- an erratic person or thing
Word Origin for erratic
Word Origin and History for erratically
erratic
late 14c., "wandering, moving," from Old French erratique (13c.) and directly from Latin erraticus "wandering, straying, roving," from erratum "an error, mistake, fault," past participle of errare "to wander, err" (see err). Sense of "irregular, eccentric" is attested by 1841. The noun is from 1620s, of persons; 1849, of boulders. Related: Erratically.