fluctuant

Fluctuant is an adjective used to describe things that are fluctuating—continually changing or shifting back and forth. It often implies that such things are unstable or prone to varying.

It’s typically applied to abstract or intangible things that frequently change, such as temperature, the stock market, or someone’s mood.

It can also be used to describe things that move or seem to move in waves.

Fluctuant is much less commonly used than the verb fluctuate and the noun fluctuation.

Example: The volume on my TV is annoyingly fluctuant—it gets louder during commercials and then it gets quiet again when the show comes back on.

The first records of the word fluctuant come from the 1500s. It comes from the Latin verb fluctuāre, meaning “to undulate” or “to flow,” from fluctus, “a wave.”

Waves in the ocean are always in motion, rising, falling, going back and forth—they’re fluctuant. Still, fluctuant is perhaps most commonly applied to nonphysical things. The amount of money in your bank account is fluctuant—it’s always going up and down as you make deposits and withdrawals. Things described as fluctuant may experience fluctuation that’s predictable or unpredictable. The temperature in deserts is fluctuant, often regularly fluctuating between the day, when it’s very hot, and the night, when it can get very cold. If a person’s mood is described as fluctuant, it’s probably unpredictable.

Things that are fluctuant can be said to be in a state of flux—continuous change. (The word flux comes from the same root as fluctuant).

What are some other forms related to fluctuant?

• fluctuate (verb)

What are some synonyms for fluctuant?

• variable
• changing
• unstable
• vacillatory

What are some words that share a root or word element with fluctuant? 

• fluctuation
• flux

What are some words that often get used in discussing fluctuant?

• temperature
• up-and-down
• back-and-forth
• temperature
• mood
• stock market
• movement
• price

Fluctuant can be used in all kinds of contexts, but it’s much less commonly used than the verb fluctuate or the noun fluctuation.

This fluctuant weather is making me nuts. Pick one: spring or winter? Let's keep it for more then a day please!

— Kayleigh Kennedy (@Kayl_K) January 31, 2013

The Internet is not guaranteed as a public space for speaking up, but is more as a fluctuant space in which people can fight. I can not provide a conclusion more optimistic than this.

— 吕频Lü Pin (@pinerpiner) February 9, 2019

In addition, fever is fluctuant, right? Thermal imaging may have a role despite the fact that, at the point of scanning, a subset of infected individuals may not exhibit a fever.

— ChrisMcCullough (@ChrisMcCullough) August 13, 2020

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym for fluctuant?

A. variable
B. changing
C. persistent
D. vacillatory