fickle

American  

[fik-uhl] / ˈfɪk əl /

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

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fickle British  

/ ˈfɪkəl /

adjective

1. changeable in purpose, affections, etc; capricious

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Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• fickleness noun
• unfickle adjective

Etymology

Origin of fickle

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

Explanation

People who are fickle change their minds so much you can't rely on them. If your best friend suddenly decides that she doesn't like you one week, and then the next week she wants to hang out again, she's being fickle. Fickle comes from the Old English word ficol, for deceitful. We usually use fickle to talk about people, but it can also be used for abstract things that alternately favor you and abuse you, like the weather. If you win the lottery and then lose everything else in the world that's important to you, fate is being fickle.

Example Sentences

Working with stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, director Kristoffer Borgli is less interested in matters of compatibility than the fickle calculus of cancellation.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

And yet Micron shares are falling, closing Wednesday down another 3.4%, to $382.09; investors have a fickle relationship with Micron after years of getting burned by the cyclical nature of the memory business.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

In short, March is a month of contrasts, and its ever-changing conditions are what give it the reputation of being truly fickle.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

It’s an unusual hot streak for a middle-aged man working in a notoriously fickle and youth-obsessed industry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

“Your fickle hands, much like your tiny brain, have trouble grasping things,” Darkness said to Seed Collector.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Related Words

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