fickle

[ fik-uhl ]

adjective

1. likely to change, especially due to caprice, irresolution, or instability; casually changeable:

   fickle weather.

   Synonyms: fitful, capricious, variable, unsteady, unstable

2. not constant or loyal in affections:

   a fickle lover.

   Synonyms: inconstant

fickle

/ ˈfɪkəl /

adjective

1. changeable in purpose, affections, etc; capricious

Derived Forms

• ˈfickleness, noun

Other Words From

• fickle·ness noun
• un·fickle adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fickle¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English fikel, Old English ficol “deceitful,” akin to fācen “treachery,” (be)fician “to deceive,” fǣcne “deceitful,” gefic “deception”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fickle¹

Old English ficol deceitful; related to fician to wheedle, befician to deceive

Synonym Study

Fickle, inconstant, capricious, vacillating describe persons or things that are not firm or steady in affection, behavior, opinion, or loyalty. Fickle implies an underlying perversity as a cause for the lack of stability: the fickle seasons, disappointing as often as they delight; once lionized, now rejected by a fickle public. Inconstant suggests an innate disposition to change: an inconstant lover, flitting from affair to affair. Capricious implies unpredictable changeability arising from sudden whim: a capricious administration constantly and inexplicably changing its signals; a capricious and astounding reversal of position. Vacillating means changeable due to lack of resolution or firmness: an indecisive, vacillating leader, apparently incapable of a sustained course of action.

Example Sentences

But red tides — and coordinating biolumenescence — are unpredictable and quite fickle, according to UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

From Los Angeles Times

And Eoghan Quigg, who appeared on The X Factor with Payne in 2008, told 5 Live: "There needs to be more support because it's a fickle business, especially now with social media."

From BBC

"This is inherently a fickle market, with consumers happy to swap streamer if they don’t think they’re getting value," he said.

From BBC

Trump, despite his fickle ties to GOP orthodoxy, pleased McConnell by sending hundreds of conservative judges, including three Supreme Court nominees, to the Senate for approval and supporting a massive tax cut for America's wealthiest earners.

From Salon

And they believe they can reach these often fickle voters by putting Trump on shows hosted by people like Von, internet pranksters Nelk Boys, YouTuber Logan Paul and Adin Ross, a livestreaming gamer who has repeatedly been banned from sites for violating rules on offensive language.

From BBC

Related Words

• capricious
• changeable
• flighty
• temperamental
• unpredictable
• unstable
• volatile