Definition of inconstantnext
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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective inconstant differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of inconstant are capricious, fickle, mercurial, and unstable. While all these words 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

When could capricious be used to replace inconstant?

The meanings of capricious and inconstant largely overlap; however, capricious suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability.

an utterly capricious critic

Where would fickle be a reasonable alternative to inconstant?

While in some cases nearly identical to inconstant, fickle suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness.

performers discover how fickle fans can be

When can mercurial be used instead of inconstant?

While the synonyms mercurial and inconstant are close in meaning, mercurial implies a rapid changeability in mood.

made anxious by her boss's mercurial temperament

When would unstable be a good substitute for inconstant?

The words unstable and inconstant can be used in similar contexts, but 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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inconstant 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 The key finding is that as the distance grows greater, the coupling stops growing, and the inconstant constant becomes constant once more. Stanley J. Brodsky, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024 See All Example Sentences for inconstant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inconstant
Adjective
  • Aerion Targaryen Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett), also known as Aerion Brightflame, is a volatile and cruel Targaryen prince infamous for his arrogance and violent behavior.
    Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026
  • Even excluding volatile food and energy prices, core PCE is expected to increase from April, according to economists polled by FactSet.
    Sean Conlon, CNBC, 21 June 2026
Adjective
  • And at the very center of Hell is Satan himself, the traitorous Archangel Lucifer, depicted as a monstrous creature with wings and three heads.
    Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 May 2026
  • Russell fabricates a lie with the rest of the villains, and the heroes believe it, despite a warning from one traitorous tribemate.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025
Adjective
  • The rapid rise and fall underscored silver's reputation as one of the market's most unpredictable assets.
    Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 16 June 2026
  • The restaurant intended to add automatic 18 percent tips to every bill, since international tipping culture is often unpredictable.
    Rachel Siegel, CNN Money, 16 June 2026
Adjective
  • Elders still literally freeze in winter because energy is unreliable or unaffordable.
    Cody Two Bears, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2026
  • The president and his advisers have repeatedly criticized offshore wind as intermittent, unreliable and unsightly.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2026
Adjective
  • Rigorous, blustery winter; winding sleety spring; hot, moist enervating summer; changeful autumn with its dog-days; these are absolutely unknown.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Jan. 2023
  • Hers is the kind of face that inspires directors to tight framing — gleaming, as if smoothed from marble, and yet somehow pliant, changeful.
    Jordan Kisner Jack Davison, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2022
Adjective
  • According to the department, at the time of the chase, Buban had multiple outstanding arrest warrants against him, including for being a felon in possession of a firearm, taking a vehicle without consent, false impersonation and petty theft.
    Kassia Bonesteel, CBS News, 19 June 2026
  • According to Peña, a producer relayed the false information to her through an earpiece during a live broadcast.
    Nicole Acevedo, NBC news, 19 June 2026
Adjective
  • If these fixes apply after the system has already verified the human and if that identity foundation is shallow, even strong transaction records rest on unstable ground.
    Jeffrey Highman, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
  • Engineers always knew the cliffs were unstable Last Chance Grade was first built as a wagon trail through the dense redwood forest in 1894.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026
Adjective
  • The terrain can be treacherous, but the guide offered patience and grace for our entire group, slowing down without comment when someone was straggling and prioritizing water breaks.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 June 2026
  • Shinnecock’s fairways create optical illusions off the tee, the bunkering is treacherous and the greens are, in some places, designed to repel the ball from the putting surfaces.
    Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 16 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Inconstant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inconstant. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.

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