: marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability : given to erratic changeableness
fickleness
noun
Examples of fickle in a Sentence
The Weak will suck up to the Strong, for fear of losing their jobs and their money and all the fickle power they wielded only twenty-four hours ago.
—
Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2004
The corporate fan who has replaced the core fan is a fickle beast, choosy about which games he'll use his precious free time to attend.
—E. M. Swift, Sports Illustrated, 15 May 2000
A failed play was a denial of what Odets was owed, for he was chasing the public no differently than did his bourgeois and nonrevolutionary contemporaries, a public as fickle as it always was and is.
—Arthur Miller, Harper's, March 1999
War is like hard-drug abuse or a fickle lover, an apparently contradictory bolt of compulsion, agony and ecstasy that draws you back in the face of better judgment time and time again.
—Anthony Loyd, My War Gone By, 1999
He blames poor sales on fickle consumers.
a fickle friendship that was on and off over the years
Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2004
The corporate fan who has replaced the core fan is a fickle beast, choosy about which games he'll use his precious free time to attend.
—E. M. Swift, Sports Illustrated, 15 May 2000
A failed play was a denial of what Odets was owed, for he was chasing the public no differently than did his bourgeois and nonrevolutionary contemporaries, a public as fickle as it always was and is.
—Arthur Miller, Harper's, March 1999
War is like hard-drug abuse or a fickle lover, an apparently contradictory bolt of compulsion, agony and ecstasy that draws you back in the face of better judgment time and time again.
—Anthony Loyd, My War Gone By, 1999
He blames poor sales on fickle consumers.
a fickle friendship that was on and off over the years
Recent Examples on the Web
Luke’s Passion narrative shows religious elites, corrupt politicians, and a fickle crowd destroying the innocent.
—Rev. Frank Alagna, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2025
Plus, the cast and crew were only shooting during that magical, yet fickle sunset lighting.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 26 Mar. 2025
Los Angeles enters the season as heavy favorites to repeat but due to the fickle nature of baseball at times, anything can happen.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
Microsoft, which also saw its acquisition of Nokia Oyj’s mobile phone business end in failure, is far from alone in encountering rejection by a fickle consumer market.
—Bloomberg, Orange County Register, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fickle
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.
Rev. Frank Alagna, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2025
Plus, the cast and crew were only shooting during that magical, yet fickle sunset lighting.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 26 Mar. 2025
Los Angeles enters the season as heavy favorites to repeat but due to the fickle nature of baseball at times, anything can happen.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
Microsoft, which also saw its acquisition of Nokia Oyj’s mobile phone business end in failure, is far from alone in encountering rejection by a fickle consumer market.
—Bloomberg, Orange County Register, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fickle
Cite this Entry
“Fickle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fickle. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fickle
adjective
fick·le
ˈfik-əl 
: likely to change frequently without good reason : inconstant
fickle friends
fickleness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share