as in volatile
likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly
unpredictable spring weather that makes it really hard to know what to wear
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Recent Examples of unpredictable
Moving on to defence and security, unpredictable flight paths and rapid directional changes make interception more difficult.
—
Etiido Uko
march 30, New Atlas, 30 Mar. 2026
Airport officials say that could help, but staffing remains unpredictable for now.
—Jamal Goss, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Baseball is wonderfully unpredictable.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
To counter this, Laird publicized a number of tests that demonstrated how managers could be easily gulled by the inflated self-assessments of job applicants, or simply react in subjective, unpredictable ways.
—Stephen Mihm, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unpredictable
Etiido Uko
march 30, New Atlas, 30 Mar. 2026
Airport officials say that could help, but staffing remains unpredictable for now.
—Jamal Goss, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Baseball is wonderfully unpredictable.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
To counter this, Laird publicized a number of tests that demonstrated how managers could be easily gulled by the inflated self-assessments of job applicants, or simply react in subjective, unpredictable ways.
—Stephen Mihm, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unpredictable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unpredictable
Adjective
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The comparison isn't perfect — stock data spans decades, while trends in trading card values are shorter and more volatile — but the outperformance in certain windows is still striking.—
Brandon Gomez,
CNBC,
29 Mar. 2026
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These volatile, double-digit voting shifts directly contrast more stable voting patterns among other major demographic groups, including the Black and white electorates, where shifts from cycle to cycle tend to be just a few points.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
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Weak—or even nonexistent—overnight freezes have left the snowpack soft and unstable early in the day, limiting the window for safe travel.—
Callie Zanandrie,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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But sometime between 100 million and 200 million years ago, the moon's orbit became unstable, and a series of gravitational interactions sent Chrysalis on a fatal, grazing encounter with Saturn.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unpredictable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpredictable. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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