1
2

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective capricious differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of capricious are fickle, inconstant, mercurial, and unstable. While all these words mean "lacking firmness or steadiness (as in purpose or devotion)," capricious suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability.

an utterly capricious critic

When can fickle be used instead of capricious?

In some situations, the words fickle and capricious are roughly equivalent. However, fickle suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness.

performers discover how fickle fans can be

Where would inconstant be a reasonable alternative to capricious?

Although the words inconstant and capricious have much in common, inconstant implies an incapacity for steadiness and an inherent tendency to change.

an inconstant friend

When could mercurial be used to replace capricious?

The meanings of mercurial and capricious largely overlap; however, mercurial implies a rapid changeability in mood.

made anxious by her boss's mercurial temperament

When might unstable be a better fit than capricious?

While the synonyms unstable and capricious are close in meaning, 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

Example Sentences

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.
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
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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Capricious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/capricious. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on capricious

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!