inconstant

adjective

in·​con·​stant (ˌ)in-ˈkän(t)-stənt 

: likely to change frequently without apparent or cogent reason

inconstantly adverb

Synonyms

• volatile
• unpredictable
• changeful
• unstable
• inconsistent

Choose the Right Synonym for inconstant

inconstant, fickle, capricious, mercurial, unstable mean lacking firmness or steadiness (as in purpose or devotion).

inconstant implies an incapacity for steadiness and an inherent tendency to change.

an inconstant friend

fickle suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness.

performers discover how fickle fans can be

capricious suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability.

an utterly capricious critic

mercurial implies a rapid changeability in mood.

made anxious by her boss's mercurial temperament

unstable implies an incapacity for remaining in a fixed position or steady course and applies especially to a lack of emotional balance.

too unstable to hold a job

Examples of inconstant in a Sentence

the inconstant nature of the business

our windjammer sailed wherever the inconstant winds took us

Recent Examples on the Web

Books about global warming often seem wary of beauty, evoking it only as fleeting and inconstant. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025

The self is a shifting, inconstant phenomenon, brain and body ever transforming in time and space, with no clear delineation between what is self and what is other. —Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025

If the United States is an unreliable partner and a source of chaos these countries will turn elsewhere, building new security and trade alliances that don’t depend on the inconstant, waning superpower. —Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 27 May 2025

Much like a patient who fails to finish a course of antibiotics, inconstant policies may incur all the costs and none of the benefits. —David Carlin, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin inconstant-, inconstans, from in- + constant-, constans constant

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for inconstant

• constant

Kids Definition

inconstant

adjective

in·​con·​stant (ˈ)in-ˈkän(t)-stənt 

: likely to change frequently without apparent reason : changeable

Medical Definition

inconstant

adjective

in·​con·​stant ˈin-ˈkän(t)-stənt 

: not always present

an inconstant muscle