1
as in volatile
likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly
capricious weather that was balmy one day and freezing cold the next
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impulsive
prone to sudden illogical changes of mind, ideas, or actions
a capricious woman who changed her mind dozens of times about what color to paint the bathroom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of capricious
This process is complicated by design — a design intended to protect universities from capricious, politically motivated meddling and to make the withdrawal of federal funding an option of last resort.
—
M. Gessen, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2025
Writers who lived in the Roman Empire portrayed judges as capricious, unaccountable or swayed by menacing crowds.
—Nathanael Andrade, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2025
To take a broad example, installing a capricious social media app that records your clicks, interactions, and outbound visits is not something that e/OS/ can protect you from.
—Ewan Spence, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
As villains go, Brody was a teddy bear compared to the gout-stricken, carnal-minded, capricious psychopath Lewis plays here on the English throne.
—Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for capricious
M. Gessen, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2025
Writers who lived in the Roman Empire portrayed judges as capricious, unaccountable or swayed by menacing crowds.
—Nathanael Andrade, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2025
To take a broad example, installing a capricious social media app that records your clicks, interactions, and outbound visits is not something that e/OS/ can protect you from.
—Ewan Spence, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
As villains go, Brody was a teddy bear compared to the gout-stricken, carnal-minded, capricious psychopath Lewis plays here on the English throne.
—Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for capricious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for capricious
Adjective
-
Some of the problems are caused by a volatile economic landscape.—
Jack Kelly,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2025
-
Trump’s supporters are grasping for justifications for a volatile stock market and looming price increases.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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To tell the story of a middle-aged man’s impulsive leap into restaurant ownership, he’s gathered an accomplished cast wielding effortless charm.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
8 May 2025
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Could this change in spending from non-essential items to more essential ones mean a realignment away from impulsive internet purchases and toward more bare essentials?—
Roger Valdez,
Forbes.com,
7 May 2025
Adjective
-
The Outlaw Music Festival touched down Thursday night on the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California, and Bob Dylan once again delivered a wildly unpredictable set that stunned even his most hardcore fans.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
16 May 2025
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Another plus: The votes were completely unpredictable from week to week, leading to some truly crazy Tribals.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile over at Rolling Stone, David Fear praises the film for staying true to the series’ gentle, eccentric tone that never fails to be filled with empathy.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
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This eccentric novel—by turns a workplace comedy, a philosophical inquisition, and a smorgasbord of bodily horror—is given life by Larraquy’s electric prose and by the merciless passions of his characters.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Adjective
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Oilers’ power play comes up short The power play has been the Oilers’ bread and butter for so long, but it’s been inconsistent in the playoffs and downright nonexistent on the road.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
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SoftBank’s investment division can be inconsistent, as it is driven by changes in public and private financial markets.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
13 May 2025
Adjective
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If parts would collapse in real life, the system identifies the first unstable brick and backtracks, removing it and all subsequent bricks before trying a different approach.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
9 May 2025
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The team calculated that a magnetar's giant flare could create the right conditions for r-process elements to form, producing highly unstable radioactive nuclei that decay into stable heavy elements such as gold.—
Victoria Corless,
Space.com,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Capricious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/capricious. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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