fickle

adjective

fick·​le ˈfi-kəl How to pronounce fickle (audio)
: marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability : given to erratic changeableness
fickleness noun
fickly adverb
Choose the Right Synonym for fickle

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 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
Recent Examples on the Web Skin is a fickle entity that needs the right combination of ingredients to keep happy — and those ingredients vary from person to person. Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 Related Articles Still, the 16-team NCAA Tournament, which begins March 28, is fickle. Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 By Judy Berman February 23, 2024 7:00 AM EST Saturday Night Live is a fickle platform. TIME, 23 Feb. 2024 The artist, whose portraits explore leisure and repose, has suddenly found success in the notoriously fickle gallery world. M.h. Miller, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024 March is fickle — some years deliver memorable snow, but most do not. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024 After this debacle, Philly's fickle fans don't even want Sirianni on the team's flight back home. Rob Maaddi, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2024 The absurdity of that level of winning compressed in a tight window, despite the fickle fates of the game, make Bochy a Hall of Famer without question. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Oct. 2023 But the Colorado’s flow was inconsistent, fiercely fickle between torrential floods and trickles. Cassidy Randall, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fickle.' 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

Middle English fikel deceitful, inconstant, from Old English ficol deceitful; akin to Old English befician to deceive, and probably to Old English fāh hostile — more at foe

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fickle was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near fickle

Cite this Entry

“Fickle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fickle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fickle

adjective
fick·​le ˈfik-əl How to pronounce fickle (audio)
: likely to change frequently without good reason : inconstant
fickle friends
fickleness noun
fickly adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on fickle

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