inconstant

American  

[in-kon-stuhnt] / ɪnˈkɒn stənt /

adjective

1. not constant; changeable; fickle; variable.

   an inconstant friend.

   Synonyms:

   volatile, mercurial, mutable, uncertain, unsettled, unstable, undependable, vacillating, capricious, moody

   Antonyms:

   steady

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inconstant British  

/ ɪnˈkɒnstənt /

adjective

1. not constant; variable

2. fickle

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Synonym Usage

See fickle.

Other Word Forms

• inconstancy
  noun
• inconstantly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of inconstant

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin inconstant- (stem of inconstāns ) “changeable.” See in- ³, constant

Explanation

Anything that's inconstant changes all the time. Don’t give your heart to an inconstant friend because she might get distracted and drop it. The moon is inconstant, with all that waxing and waning, but we love it anyway. You can't exactly count on things — or people — that are inconstant, since they vary or waver so much. Someone who's inconstant is fickle or even undependable. An inconstant friend might promise to come to your party and then fail to show up because she suddenly felt like going bowling instead. When the weather is inconstant, you don’t know what to wear. The Latin root is inconstantem, "changeable or capricious."

Example Sentences

Watchful suspect is kindled with despair, Inconstant hope is often drown’d in fears; What folly hurts not, fortune can repair, And misery doth swim in seas of tears.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 17, No. 486, April 23, 1831 by Various

The flying squadron has sailed after having awaited the return of the "Inconstant" from docking at Nagasaki.

From In Eastern Seas Or, the Commission of H.M.S. 'Iron Duke,' flag-ship in China, 1878-83 by Smith, J. J.

Inconstant, flighty, always determined by the first impression, and kindling in an instant, he engaged in everything, had a plan for every occasion; no undertaking was too arduous for him, no obstacle could deter him.

From The Uncollected Writings of Thomas de Quincey, Vol. 2 With a Preface and Annotations by James Hogg by Hogg, James

Inconstant Night, whate'er thy changes be, It suits not man to be alone with thee.

From Poems, &c. (1790) Wherein It Is Attempted To Describe Certain Views Of Nature And Of Rustic Manners; And Also, To Point Out, In Some Instances, The Different Influence Which The Same Circumstances Produce On Different Characters by Baillie, Joanna

When on the pinnace, a large ship, which I believe to have been the Inconstant, passed us fifty yards to leeward.

From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 1 by Whymper, Frederick