erratic

¹er·rat·ic

adjective \i-ˈra-tik\

Definition of ERRATIC

1

a : having no fixed course : wandering <an erratic comet>

b archaic : nomadic

2

: transported from an original resting place especially by a glacier <an erratic boulder>

3

a : characterized by lack of consistency, regularity, or uniformity <erratic dieting> <keeps erratic hours>

b : deviating from what is ordinary or standard : eccentric <an erratic genius>

— er·rat·i·cal \-ti-kəl\ adjective

— er·rat·i·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

— er·rat·i·cism \-ˈa-tə-ˌsi-zəm\ noun

Examples of ERRATIC

1. <so far your effort to land a summer job has been very erratic>
2. <because of your erratic attendance at practice, you're in danger of being cut from the team>
3. My sinker has been my most erratic pitch. And when your foundation pitch is lacking, you have to go to other pitches. My sinker has been in and out, but mostly out. —Orel Hershiser, in New York Times, 9 May 1999
4. In winning his two-month match in Yugoslavia against Boris Spassky, 10 games to five, Bobby Fischer was erratic, which was hardly surprising considering his two-decade layoff, but there were times when he played more brilliantly than anybody could have expected. —Sports Illustrated, 16 Nov. 1992
5. Over the centuries, in erratic ways, men have constructed a world in which they are relatively free of many kinds of threatening or harmful stimuli … —B. F. Skinner, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, (1971) 1972

Origin of ERRATIC

Middle English, from Latin erraticus, from erratus, past participle of errare (see err)

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to ERRATIC

Synonyms

aimless, arbitrary, catch-as-catch-can, desultory, random, haphazard, helter-skelter, hit-or-miss, scattered, slapdash, stray

Antonyms

methodical (also methodic), nonrandom, orderly, organized, regular, systematic, systematized

Related Words

accidental, casual, chance, chancy, contingent, fluky (also flukey), fortuitous, inadvertent, incidental, lucky, unconsidered, unintended, unintentional, unplanned, unpremeditated; scattershot, shotgun; irregular, odd, sporadic, spot; directionless, objectless, purposeless; indiscriminate, unsystematic; undirected; disorderly, disorganized; undiscriminating, unselective

Near Antonyms

established, fixed, regular, set, stable, steady; constant, continuous, even; arranged, managed, orchestrated, ordered, planned; aware, conscious, deliberate, purposeful, thoughtful, willful (or wilful)

See Synonym Discussion at strange

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Rhymes with ERRATIC

agnatic, aquatic, asthmatic, Carnatic, chromatic, climatic, comatic, dalmatic, dogmatic, dramatic, ecstatic, emphatic, eustatic, fanatic, hepatic, judgmatic, komatik, lymphatic, magmatic, neumatic, phlegmatic, plasmatic, pneumatic, pragmatic, prismatic, protatic, quadratic, rheumatic, schematic, schismatic, sciatic, Socratic, somatic, spermatic, stigmatic, sylvatic, thematic, traumatic, villatic

²er·rat·ic

noun \i-ˈra-tik\

Definition of ERRATIC

: one that is erratic (see ¹erratic); especially : a boulder or block of rock transported from its original resting place especially by a glacier

Origin of ERRATIC

(see ¹erratic)

First Known Use: circa 1623

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Rhymes with ERRATIC

aquatic, chromatic, ecstatic, fanatic, hepatic, lymphatic, pragmatic, quadratic, rheumatic, schematic, Socratic, stigmatic

er·rat·ic

adjective \ir-ˈat-ik\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of ERRATIC

1

: characterized by lack of consistency, regularity, or uniformity <an erratic pulse>

2

: deviating from what is ordinary or standard