inconstantadj.n.
/ɪnˈkɒnstənt/ A. adj. Not constant.† 3. Inconsistent with. Obsolete.
1. Of persons, or their character, actions, etc.: Not steadfast; fickle, changeable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > amorous love > [adjective] > inconstant in love
inconstant1402
light of love?1529
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective]
unfastc888
unstathelfasteOE
unsteadfasta1200
fleeting?c1225
changeablea1275
ficklea1275
unstablec1290
waveringc1315
flickerc1325
loose in the haftc1325
motleyc1380
unsadc1384
variablea1387
variantc1386
ticklec1400
inconstant1402
flitting1413
brittle1420
plianta1425
mutablec1425
shittle1440
shittle-witted1448
moonishc1450
unconstant1483
unfirm1483
varying?a1500
pliablea1513
fluctuant1575
changeling1577
shittle-headed1580
cheverel1583
off and on1583
chameleon-like1589
changeful1590
limber1602
unsteady1604
ticklish1606
skittish1609
startling1619
labile1623
uncertaina1625
cheverelized1625
remuant1625
fluctuate1631
fluctuary1632
various1636
contrarious1643
epileptical1646
fluxilea1654
shittle-braineda1655
multivolent1656
totter-headed1662
on and off1668
self-inconsistent1678
weathercocka1680
whifflinga1680
versatile1682
veering1684
fast and loose1697
inconsistent1709
insteadfast1728
unfixing1810
unsteadied1814
chameleonic1821
labefact1874
ballastless1884
weathercocky1886
whiffle-minded1902
1402 T. Hoccleve Let. of Cupid 101 She..ys fals and inconstant and hath no feythe.
?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 48 Be constant in ȝour gouernance and counterfeit gud maneris, Thought ȝe be kene, inconstant and cruell of mynd.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. iv. sig. D3v Inconstant man, that loued all he saw, And lusted after all, that he did loue.
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia ii. 30 They are inconstant in every thing but what feare constraineth them to keepe.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. x. 278 It is difficult to paint the light, the various, the inconstant character of Gallienus.
1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 2) App. iv. 461 The fickle, inconstant, volatile temper of the people.
2. † b. Of the eyes: Unsteady, shifting. Obsolete.
a. Of things: Frequently changing or altering; mutable, variable, irregular.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective]
slidinga900
wankleeOE
windyc1000
unsteadfastc1200
fleeting?c1225
loose?c1225
brotelc1315
unstablec1340
varyingc1340
variantc1374
motleyc1380
ungroundedc1380
muablea1393
passiblea1393
remuablea1393
changeablea1398
movablea1398
variablec1397
slidderya1400
ticklec1400
variantc1412
flitting1413
mutable?a1425
movingc1425
flaskisable1430
flickering1430
transmutablec1430
vertible1447
brittlea1450
ficklea1450
permutablec1450
unfirmc1450
uncertain1477
turnable1483
unsteadfast1483
vagrantc1522
inconstant1526
alterable?1531
stirringc1540
slippery1548
various1552
slid?1553
mutala1561
rolling1561
weathery1563
unconstant1568
interchangeable1574
fluctuant1575
stayless1575
transitive1575
voluble1575
changeling1577
queasy1579
desultory1581
huff-puff1582
unstaid1586
vagrant1586
changeful1590
floating1594
Protean1594
unstayed1594
swimming1596
anchorless1597
mobilec1600
ticklish1601
catching1603
labile1603
unrooted1604
quicksilvered1605
versatile1605
insubstantial1607
uncertain1609
brandling1611
rootless1611
squeasy1611
wind-changinga1616
insolid1618
ambulatory1625
versatilous1629
plastic1633
desultorious1637
unbottomed1641
fluid1642
fluent1648
yea-and-nay1648
versipellous1650
flexile1651
uncentred1652
variating1653
chequered1656
slideable1662
transchangeative1662
weathercock-like1663
flicketing1674
fluxa1677
lapsable1678
wanton1681
veering1684
upon the weathercock1702
contingent1703
unsettled?1726
fermentable1731
afloat1757
brickle1768
wavy1795
vagarious1798
unsettled1803
fitful1810
metamorphosical1811
undulating1815
tittupya1817
titubant1817
mutative1818
papier mâché1818
teetotum1819
vacillating1822
capricious1823
sensitive1828
quicksilvery1829
unengrafted1829
fluxionala1834
proteiform1833
liquid1835
tottlish1835
kaleidoscopic1846
versative1846
kaleidoscopical1858
tottery1861
choppy1865
variative1874
variational1879
wimbly-wambly1881
fluctuable1882
shifty1882
giveable1884
shifty1884
tippy1886
mutatory1890
upsettable1890
rocky1897
undulatory1897
streaky1898
tottly1905
tipply1906
up and down1907
inertialess1927
sometimey1946
rise-and-fall1950
switchable1961
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Bviiiv What is more frayle, more inconstant & mutable, than is the wyll of man?
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. i. 151 O swear not by the moone th'inconstant [1597 vnconstant] moone, That monethly changes in her circle orbe. View more context for this quotation
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida i. sig. Cv Sayling some two monthes with inconstant winds.
a1677 J. Taylor Contempl. State Man (1684) i. ii. 12 All things on this side Heaven are inconstant and transitory.
1833 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 43 Mineral and organic characters, although often inconstant, may..enable us to establish the contemporaneous origin of formations in distant countries.
1875 E. Poste tr. Gaius Institutionum Iuris Civilis (ed. 2) Pref. 8 The orthography of the Veronese MS. is extremely inconstant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > a look or glance > [adjective] > wandering
inconstant1598
unconstant?1610
squanderinga1616
vagarish1801
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [adjective] > movements of eye
walling1513
rolling1532
roving1567
wandering1578
inconstant1598
loose1603
unrolling1647
voluble1661
1598 R. Hakluyt tr. in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 21 They [sc. the Tartars] be hardie and strong..their eye-browes extending from their fore-heads downe to their noses, their eies inconstant and blacke, their countenances writhen and terrible.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > disharmony or incongruity > [adjective] > inconsistent or contradictory
repugnantc1443
contradictory1533
disproportioneda1616
unconsistent1638
inconstant1642
inconsistent1646
inconsistent1656
incongruous1658
inconsisting1658
inconsistible1660
crimp1712
1642 E. Dering Coll. Speeches on Relig. 61 Episcopacy is incompatible and inconstant with the authority of a secular jurisdiction.
B. n.
An inconstant person or thing. (Cf. French un inconstant.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > changeableness > [noun] > changeable person or thing
weathercocka1300
wind?a1513
Proteus1528
chameleon1586
moon's man1598
vane1598
mooncalf1607
remover1609
tarand1641
inconstant1647
mutables1652
changeablea1711
kaleidoscope1819
phantasmagoria1822
palimpsest1845
variable1846
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > inconstant person or thing
Proteus1528
chameleon1586
inconstant1647
1647 A. Cowley Mistresse lxiii. (heading) The Inconstant.
1702 G. Farquhar (title) The inconstant; or the way to win him.
1702 P. A. Motteux in G. Farquhar Inconstant Prol. sig. a This Night we hope you'll an Inconstant bear.
1794 Bot. Mag. No. 218 The Disandra varies extremely in the number of its stamina..few such inconstants exist.
1840 F. Trollope Widow Married III. xxxiv. 280 Either from his being a gambler, or an inconstant.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.1402