fickle
Americanadjective
-
likely to change, especially due to caprice, irresolution, or instability; casually changeable.
fickle weather.
- Synonyms:
- fitful, capricious, variable, unsteady, unstable
-
not constant or loyal in affections.
a fickle lover.
- Synonyms:
- inconstant
adjective
Related Words
Fickle, inconstant, capricious, vacillating describe persons or things that are not firm or steady in affection, behavior, opinion, or loyalty. Fickle implies an underlying perversity as a cause for the lack of stability: the fickle seasons, disappointing as often as they delight; once lionized, now rejected by a fickle public. Inconstant suggests an innate disposition to change: an inconstant lover, flitting from affair to affair. Capricious implies unpredictable changeability arising from sudden whim: a capricious administration constantly and inexplicably changing its signals; a capricious and astounding reversal of position. Vacillating means changeable due to lack of resolution or firmness: an indecisive, vacillating leader, apparently incapable of a sustained course of action.
Other Word Forms
- fickleness noun
- unfickle adjective
Etymology
Origin of fickle
First recorded before 1000; Middle English fikel, Old English ficol “deceitful,” akin to fācen “treachery,” (be)fician “to deceive,” fǣcne “deceitful,” gefic “deception”
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.
"I'm so proud of everyone because football is a highly emotional place sometimes and it's very fickle," Gordon added.
From BBC
A U-turn on sedans would be a reversal of uncharacteristic speed even for Detroit’s notoriously fickle industry.
In this Apple TV series, O’Hara nails the fickle, chaotic and nonsensical churn of the industry through her intense character, who is based on the former Sony Picture Entertainment head, Amy Pascal.
From Los Angeles Times
The good news is that Melbourne's notoriously fickle weather is set to change again on Sunday with forecast highs of 24C.
From Barron's
Added to the mix, Melbourne's weather is notoriously fickle and the heat has played havoc with the schedule in the past.
From Barron's
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.
