capricious

adjective

ca·​pri·​cious kə-ˈpri-shəs How to pronounce capricious (audio) -ˈprē- How to pronounce capricious (audio)
: governed or characterized by caprice : impulsive, unpredictable
capriciously adverb
capriciousness noun

Did you know?

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.

Choose the Right Synonym for capricious

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 capricious in a Sentence

… every balloon voyage is a race between capricious winds and the amount of fuel on board. 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.
Recent Examples on the Web The smell of cholent wafting through my home may well be an accidental thing, the result of a capricious history guided by random encounters. Benjamin Dubow, Longreads, 20 Feb. 2024 The motions inside clouds are turbulent, with globs and eddies of gas swirling around like capricious fairies. Nia Imara, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024 As the capricious trends of social media increasingly influence definitions and the determination of scientific truths becomes a matter of individual discretion, the implications for artificial intelligence (AI) are profound and far-reaching, particularly for cybersecurity in the quantum age. Denis Mandich, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Her choice was to put her faith in free will, despite the risk of a multiversal war, rather than submitting to the capricious whims of the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Oct. 2023 The unexplained reversal of support for Gay leading to her resignation made the board look capricious and confused, with faculty members left in the dark. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2024 In her hands, girls are feral, capricious creatures, isolated by the porcelain perfection of their beauty and societal expectations that stand at odds with the raging desires and imaginings inside their heads. EW.com, 24 Oct. 2023 But years of capricious government policies, crackdowns and blacklisting have left firms battered or destroyed. Li Yuan, New York Times, 29 Aug. 2023 The site’s stable of critics often seemed capricious, uninvested, sometimes spiteful, assigning low scores on a signature 10-point scale with punitive zeal. Chris Richards, Washington Post, 18 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'capricious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French capricieux, borrowed from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio caprice + -oso -ous

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of capricious was in 1601

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Dictionary Entries Near capricious

Cite this Entry

“Capricious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capricious. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

capricious

adjective
ca·​pri·​cious kə-ˈprish-əs How to pronounce capricious (audio) -ˈprē-shəs How to pronounce capricious (audio)
: moved or controlled by caprice : apt to change suddenly
a capricious child
capricious weather
capriciously adverb
capriciousness noun

Legal Definition

capricious

adjective
ca·​pri·​cious kə-ˈpri-shəs, -ˈprē- How to pronounce capricious (audio)
1
: governed or characterized by impulse or whim: as
a
: lacking a rational basis
b
: likely to change suddenly
2
: not supported by the weight of evidence or established rules of law
often used in the phrase arbitrary and capricious
capriciously adverb
capriciousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on capricious

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