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Synonyms

fluctuant

American  
[fluhk-choo-uhnt] / ˈflʌk tʃu ənt /

adjective

  1. fluctuating; varying; unstable.

  2. undulating; moving or seeming to move in waves.

ˈfluctuant British  
/ ˈflʌktjʊənt /

adjective

  1. inclined to vary or fluctuate; unstable

"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

Usage

What does fluctuant mean? 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.

Other Word Forms

  • unfluctuant adjective

Etymology

Origin of fluctuant

1550–60; < Latin fluctuant- (stem of fluctuāns ) (present participle of fluctuāre to undulate). See fluctuate, -ant

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.