capricious
adjective
-ˈprē- 
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How long has caprice appeared in English?
The adjective capricious and its close relation, the noun caprice (a synonym of whim), both derive via French from the Italian capriccio, which originally referred not to a sudden desire but to a sudden shudder of fear. Capriccio, in turn, likely derives from the Italian capo, meaning "head," and riccio, the word for "hedgehog." The implication was that someone who shuddered in fear was said to have a "hedgehog head," meaning that the person's hair stood on end like the spines of a hedgehog.
Synonyms
- changeable
- changeful
- fickle
- flickery
- fluctuating
- fluid
- inconsistent
- inconstant
- mercurial
- mutable
- skittish
- temperamental
- uncertain
- unpredictable
- unsettled
- unstable
- unsteady
- variable
- volatile
Example Sentences
Tom Morganthau, Newsweek, 29 Mar. 1999 She is capricious, however, and is said to take bribes and wantonly peddle her influence from time to time. Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 15 Dec. 1994 Lady Luck is a capricious mother who, as in a recurrent nightmare, always offers, never comes through, and never stops smiling. Hugh Drummond, Boston Magazine, November 1989 I don't believe in random occurrences or blind chance, though I know the patterns of this world are capricious and terribly complex. Leslie Marmon Silko, letter, 21 Aug. 1979 employees who are at the mercy of a capricious manager The court ruled that the punishment was arbitrary and capricious. See More Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2022 Due to the links style of play, set-up and capricious weather, momentum is not necessarily rewarded at the Open compared to its major brethren. Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 29 June 2022 That is, the whistleblower must show that the IRS in its decision on the facts was arbitrary and capricious (as opposed to the more traditional de novo review – where the court decides the issue). Dean Zerbe, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Critics of strict red-flag laws and more robust background checks often lament those restrictions as capricious, arbitrary, and lacking due process. Byjohn Cohen, ABC News, 7 July 2022 All of this comes as China’s economic problems—a dysfunctional housing market, high youth unemployment, rising skepticism among Western multinationals and a capricious regulatory environment—increasingly look structural rather than cyclical. Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, 6 Aug. 2022 By assigning an arbitrator to oversee the review of facts and decide on the initial penalty, the revision aimed to stem criticisms of Goodell’s outsized and sometimes capricious power in the disciplinary process. New York Times, 3 Aug. 2022 But Antoinette is capricious rather than malicious (imagine Annie Hall in the natural world). Armond White, National Review, 27 July 2022 But perception doesn't always line up with reality, and the economists at the Federal Reserve are as susceptible to capricious economic shifts as you and I. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 24 July 2022 See More Word History
borrowed from Middle French capricieux, borrowed from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio caprice + -oso -ous
1601, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
capricious
adjective
Legal Definition
capricious
adjective
capricious
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- unpredictable
- volatile
- changeful
- inconsistent
- unstable
- uncertain
- variable
- fickle
- inconstant
- mercurial
- temperamental
- changeable
- mutable
- unsettled
- fluctuating
- erratic
- arbitrary
- random
- unsteady
- haphazard
- unreliable
- fluid
- skittish
- aimless
- scattered
- flickery
- slapdash
- ambivalent
- shaky
- stray
- vacillating
- untrustworthy
- up in the air
- desultory
- undependable
- irregular
- wavering
- dicey
- hit-or-miss
- hesitating
- protean
- versatile
- adaptable
- shilly-shallying
- mobile
- shilly-shally
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- certain
- predictable
- constant
- invariable
- unchangeable
- immutable
- unchanging
- unvarying
- steady
- stable
- changeless
- stationary
- equable
- uniform
- persistent
- permanent
- settled
- even
- abiding
- durable
- lasting
- reliable
- dependable
- true
- sure
- trustworthy
- trusty
- tried
- tried-and-true
Synonyms & Similar Words
- impulsive
- eccentric
- volatile
- whimsical
- moody
- freakish
- impetuous
- arbitrary
- romantic
- willful
- mercurial
- temperamental
- fickle
- inconstant
- erratic
- quirky
- shaky
- impractical
- flaky
- quixotic
- irregular
- wilful
- unrealistic
- crankish
- utopian
- visionary
- quixotical
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- reasonable
- equable
- practical
- pragmatic
- sensible
- pragmatical
- rational
- hardheaded
- logical
- earthy
- sound
- levelheaded
- inflexible
- invariable
- grounded
- sane
- unrelenting
- unyielding
- unalterable
- uncompromising
- unchangeable
- immutable
- unbending
- commonsensical
- constant
- sober
- fixed
- tough-minded
- fast
- unchanging
- matter-of-fact
- steady
- stable
- steadfast
- unvarying
- down-to-earth
- changeless
- sobersided
- hard-boiled
- no-nonsense
- established
- settled
- hard-and-fast
- set
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of capricious are fickle, inconstant, mercurial, and unstable. While all these words mean "lacking firmness or steadiness (as in purpose or devotion)," capricious suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability.
In some situations, the words fickle and capricious are roughly equivalent. However, fickle suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness.
Although the words inconstant and capricious have much in common, inconstant implies an incapacity for steadiness and an inherent tendency to change.
The meanings of mercurial and capricious largely overlap; however, mercurial implies a rapid changeability in mood.
While the synonyms unstable and capricious are close in meaning, unstable implies an incapacity for remaining in a fixed position or steady course and applies especially to a lack of emotional balance.