vicissitude

[ vi-sis-i-tood, -tyood ]

/ vɪˈsɪs ɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: vicissitude / vicissitudes on Thesaurus.com

noun

a change or variation occurring in the course of something.

interchange or alternation, as of states or things.

vicissitudes, successive, alternating, or changing phases or conditions, as of life or fortune; ups and downs: They remained friends through the vicissitudes of 40 years.

regular change or succession of one state or thing to another.

change; mutation; mutability.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of vicissitude

First recorded in 1560–70; from Middle French, from Latin vicissitūdō, equivalent to viciss(im) “in turn” (perhaps by syncope, from unrecorded vice-cessim; vice “in the place of” + cessim “giving way,“ adverbial derivative of cēdere “to go, proceed”) + -i- -i- + -tūdō -tude;see also vice³

OTHER WORDS FROM vicissitude

vi·cis·si·tu·di·nous, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vicissitude in a sentence

That party may or may not win power, depending on the vicissitudes of gerrymandering, geography, and the Electoral College.
The definitive case for ending the filibuster|Ezra Klein|October 1, 2020|Vox
Art must be used in service of the people—and is always subject to the vicissitudes of the party line.
The Death of 'Stalin's Songbird'|Michael Moynihan|January 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One by one, nine men, all military veterans, updated the judge on the vicissitudes of their week.
From PTSD to Prison: Why Veterans Become Criminals|Matthew Wolfe|July 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But no matter what the vicissitudes of life, I am still glad that I came of age in Boston, and that it taught me what it did.
Whoever Did This Does Not Understand Boston|Pranay Gupte|April 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST

After the ceremony they were separated; and many years full of strange vicissitudes elapsed before they again met.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
Through all the vicissitudes of their lives they had kept up a constant correspondence.
Madame Roland, Makers of History|John S. C. Abbott
Together we rejoiced at the escape of Sill and Lamson, and made merry over the vicissitudes of my checkered career.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
When in health, I could bear the various trials and vicissitudes through which I was called to pass.
Fox's Book of Martyrs|John Foxe
Having quitted Britain, St. Ursula and her train of 11,000 maidens underwent various vicissitudes.
Archaic England|Harold Bayley

British Dictionary definitions for vicissitude

vicissitude

/ (vɪˈsɪsɪˌtjuːd) /

noun

variation or mutability in nature or life, esp successive alternation from one condition or thing to another

a variation in circumstance, fortune, character, etc

Derived forms of vicissitude

vicissitudinary or vicissitudinous, adjective

Word Origin for vicissitude

C16: from Latin vicissitūdō, from vicis change, alternation

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

vicissitude

Origin of vicissitude

OTHER WORDS FROM vicissitude

Words related to vicissitude

How to use vicissitude in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vicissitude

Derived forms of vicissitude

Word Origin for vicissitude