flighty
Americanadjective
-
given to flights of fancy; capricious; frivolous.
- Synonyms:
- irresponsible, undependable, mercurial
-
slightly delirious; light-headed; mildly crazy.
-
irresponsible.
He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.
-
Archaic. swift or fleet.
adjective
-
frivolous and irresponsible; capricious; volatile
-
mentally erratic, unstable, or wandering
-
flirtatious; coquettish
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flighty
Explanation
If you're flighty, you're flaky and a little bit thoughtless. Flighty people change their minds and plans at the drop of a hat. Flighty people are unreliable and irresponsible — they often forget appointments, show up late, and change their minds about important things at the last minute. If you need help with something important, don't count on a flighty person for help. The original meaning of flighty, in the 1500's, was "swift" or "speedy." By the late 1700's, it had come to mean "fickle or frivolous," and was often used to describe skittish horses.
Vocabulary lists containing flighty
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 4
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
A Streetcar Named Desire
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
He wasn’t a crazed football fan or a flighty 30-something bachelor, but an outdoorsman who loved mountain biking away from the city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
Undertaking a new challenge every few years can show employers you’re ambitious, but not flighty.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 22, 2025
"Today’s young women know that neurotic isn’t cute. Cute isn’t cute. Neither is flustered, madcap, zany, flighty, flaky, harried or hapless - all adjectives that apply to Bridget."
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2024
It ought to be a great role for her but the movie is too shallow and flighty to do her justice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
“And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Ms. Oates’s book has more warmth, though it’s also flabbier and flightier.
From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2011
The trade-off is a flightier, more mercurial and more tabloid pop culture.
From Time Magazine Archive
In Spain, authorities have agreed to give ground on some major student concerns, but they have drawn the line at a few of the students' flightier notions.
From Time Magazine Archive
For the last 20 years, while flightier musicians have run off after every new craze in jazz, swing or bebop, Wayne King has stuck tenaciously to the waltz.
From Time Magazine Archive
"He will shed his flightier notions as a young bird moults its down."
From Bart Ridgeley A Story of Northern Ohio by Riddle, A. G.
Kimber—the flightiest, girliest Hologram, with the longest, most labor-intensive hair—only dates girls; nobody thinks that’s a problem, nor does anybody think it odd that she falls for someone with Stormer’s body type.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 19, 2015
It would encourage her to indulge her worst, flightiest, most self-absorbed tendencies.
From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2013
This performance, which looks intelligent, does not strain the brain of even the flightiest hen.
From Time Magazine Archive
The last one they had was, and his wife was the silliest, flightiest little thing I ever saw.
From Anne's House of Dreams by Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud)
It was before I moved over from South side, but Mrs. Hikes says she had the flightiest clothes when he was courtin' her.
From A Village Ophelia and Other Stories by Aldrich, Anne Reeve
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.
