fluctuant

[ fluhk-choo-uhnt ]

adjective

1. fluctuating; varying; unstable.
2. undulating; moving or seeming to move in waves.

ˈfluctuant

/ ˈflʌktjʊənt /

adjective

1. inclined to vary or fluctuate; unstable

Other Words From

• un·fluctu·ant adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fluctuant¹

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

Example Sentences

Playing the film’s most unintentionally destructive force, Mulligan is as fluctuant as a flame, as Jeanette attempts to sew together the young beauty queen she had to stop being when she impulsively got hitched and the world-weary cynic who teaches her son that feeling sorry for the unfortunate is fundamentally pointless.

From Slate

Playing the film’s most unintentionally destructive force, Mulligan is as fluctuant as a flame, as Jeanette attempts to sew together the young beauty queen she had to stop being when she impulsively got hitched and the world-weary cynic who teaches her son that feeling sorry for the unfortunate is fundamentally pointless.

From Slate

On the long flank of it the rain crashes steadily, myriad, fluctuant.

From Literature

On the long flank of it the rain crashes steadily, myriad, fluctuant.

From Literature

The Eve of Revolution, for instance, with which the Songs Before Sunrise open, rings with the stirring noise of trumpets: I hear the midnight on the mountains cry With many tongues of thunders, and I hear Sound and resound the hollow shield of sky With trumpet-throated winds that charge and cheer, And through the roar of the hours that fighting fly, Through flight and fight and all the fluctuant fear.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abnormal
• arbitrary
• bizarre
• capricious
• eccentric
• inconsistent
• irregular
• mercurial
• uncertain
• unreliable
• unstable
• unusual
• volatile
• wayward
• weird
• whimsical

More About Fluctuant

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.

Where does fluctuant come from?

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).

Did you know ... ?

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

How is fluctuant used in real life?

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

 

 

Try using fluctuant!

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

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