vagary

[vuh-gair-ee, vey-guh-ree]

See more synonyms for vagary on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural va·gar·ies.

an unpredictable or erratic action, occurrence, course, or instance: the vagaries of weather; the vagaries of the economic scene.
a whimsical, wild, or unusual idea, desire, or action.

Origin of vagary

1565–75, in sense “wandering journey”; apparently < Latin vagārī to wander

Synonyms for vagary

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

2. caprice, whim, quirk, crotchet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for vagaries

whim, quirk, humor, crotchet, whimsy, fancy, idea, impulse, notion, inconsistency, inconstancy

Examples from the Web for vagaries

Contemporary Examples of vagaries

What the record really shows is just how much the fate of the Presidency is governed by the vagaries of chance.
Political Mythbusting: Third Term’s the Charm
Jeff Greenfield
August 24, 2014
After all, radically purist ideologies need to be sheltered from the vagaries of the world, and they can be expensive to maintain.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?
Michael Schulson
March 29, 2014

Historical Examples of vagaries

The power to hold in check the vagaries of imagination may be gone.
The Great Hunger
Johan Bojer
The vagaries of the mountain atmosphere rarely concerned him.
The Golden Woman
Ridgwell Cullum
It has no thought of time and it accepts all the vagaries of your laziness.
Journeys to Bagdad
Charles S. Brooks
Silvey smiled, as does an adult listening to the vagaries of a child.
A Son of the City
Herman Gastrell Seely
The vagaries of the human mind are beyond our understanding.
Watch Yourself Go By
Al. G. Field

British Dictionary definitions for vagaries

vagary

noun plural -garies

an erratic or outlandish notion or action; whim

Word Origin for vagary

C16: probably from Latin vagārī to roam; compare Latin vagus vague

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

Word Origin and History for vagaries

vagary

1570s, "a wandering, a roaming journey," probably from Latin vagari "to wander, roam, be unsettled, spread abroad," from vagus "roving, wandering" (see vague). Current meaning of "eccentric notion or conduct" (1620s) is from notion of mental wandering. Related: Vagaries.