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
Such supportive undercurrents help explain why the tape has hung in there in the face of capricious policy-making and putrid consumer sentiment, allowing the market to process extraordinary and sometimes scary stimuli into what looks, for now, like a setback that’s more routine than wrenching.
—
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 26 May 2025
That intentional inscrutability makes the book excitingly capricious, reflecting how nations remember or untangle painful ruptures in their history.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 18 May 2025
In short, fate’s distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 12 May 2025
Desperate to impress Ruby, Ava scrambles to get Deborah jokes for a desk bit, only for a capricious and vindictive Deborah to cancel the bit entirely and use the time to probe Ruby about embarrassing Ava stories on national television.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for capricious
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 26 May 2025
That intentional inscrutability makes the book excitingly capricious, reflecting how nations remember or untangle painful ruptures in their history.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 18 May 2025
In short, fate’s distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 12 May 2025
Desperate to impress Ruby, Ava scrambles to get Deborah jokes for a desk bit, only for a capricious and vindictive Deborah to cancel the bit entirely and use the time to probe Ruby about embarrassing Ava stories on national television.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for capricious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for capricious
Adjective
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While the character brandishes a firearm and things eventually come to blows in physical tussles over the course of the volatile evening, Gallo's script never loses grip on the tender undercurrent of intimacy established back in Ponyboi's shower.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
27 June 2025
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Budget Pressure Is Driving Clarity The reflex in volatile markets is often to scale up teams or stack more tools.—
Jeremy Barnett,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Written and directed by documentarian Brian Tetsuro Ivie (Emanuel) in his narrative directorial debut, the film tells the story of an impulsive young woman and a reclusive older man who launch on a poignant cross‑country road trip.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
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Unfortunately, impulsive, inventory-optimization metric chasing often soothes symptoms while elevating strategic risk.—
Noah Barsky,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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Each response is a surprise, tapping into the psychological principle of intermittent reinforcement, famously demonstrated by psychologist B.F. Skinner, where unpredictable rewards significantly amplify behaviors, much like gambling addiction.—
Curt Steinhorst,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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The Big Apple is full of complex, unpredictable scenarios for the Waymo Driver software to handle: Jaywalking pedestrians, trucks parked in the street, complex intersections, heavy rains, and harsh winter weather, to name a few.—
Emily Forlini,
PC Magazine,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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There’s a story about how the father and mother grow closer together through this eccentric child.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2025
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Tobias is a quirky, eccentric and immensely talented choreographer, always wearing headphones.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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This can result in inconsistent model behavior or bloated integrations.—
Adrian Bridgwater,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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Chiefs 2022 second-round pick Skyy Moore has been productive in practices but also needs to regain trust after previous inconsistent play.—
Jesse Newell,
Kansas City Star,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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Caregivers, or Care Pros, are the largest workforce in the U.S., yet their jobs are often undervalued and unstable.—
Glenn Llopis,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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Residents in the wing that stayed intact managed to get out but were not allowed to return to their homes, and the rest of the building, determined to be unstable, was demolished 10 days later as a hurricane threatened South Florida.—
Linda Robertson,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Capricious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/capricious. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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