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as in fluctuation
the frequent and usually sudden passing from one condition to another the inconstancy of public opinion is such that today's hero may be tomorrow's punching bag

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 inconstancy Scientific and engineering advances don't do well in the face of such wild swings and inconstancy. Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2025 Europeans, awakened to the danger of American inconstancy, are scrambling to spend trillions more on defense in coming years. Adam Rasmi, Time, 20 June 2025 Years of naval inconstancy with repair work drove Vigor Industrial—a once vibrant and growing maritime conglomerate—into the welcoming arms of hedge funds, which wasted no time in striping the company of value. Craig Hooper, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Here, Calabazas appears to be holding a toy windmill in one hand and, in the other, a miniature portrait of a woman, perhaps intended by Velázquez as a commentary on the inconstancy of love. Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2023 Due to his inconstancy and Angie’s growing attachment, their flimsy relationship operated on a timescale of eras coalescing into matters of historical record. Hannah Gold, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022 But, in the hands of the Fleet Foxes, the pastoral feels less like a particular zone in time and more like a space in which to parse ideas of self-reliance, the inconstancy of love, the pain of intimacy, the fear of loss, the sting of betrayal, and the strange but urgent project of hope. Brandon Taylor, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2022 Over the past 20 years, the United States has undermined its own global leadership by inconstancy. Damon Linker, The Week, 9 June 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inconstancy
Noun
  • For many couples, infidelity is a nonnegotiable breach of trust, never to be forgiven.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The second season saw the #MomTok group dissipate with Taylor Frankie Paul’s infidelity and the drama with his mistress Jenna.
    Peter White, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The fluctuation in price is due to advanced safety features like AFCI and GFCI protection along with mandatory updates to meet current electrical codes, the store said.
    Gabrielle Chenault, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Still, there are many shorter ones with weekly or even daily fluctuations.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In addition, Swazi law has a different definition of adultery for men and for women.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Certain artistic genres were employed to publicize and critique changes to laws regarding adultery and divorce.
    Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 July 2025
Noun
  • Instead, gravitational waves, as natural quantum oscillations of space-time itself, are enough in this model to create the density fluctuations that lead to matter developing structures like galaxies, stars, and planets.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Scientists have continued to develop light-flickering stimulation to induce gamma-wave oscillations in Alzheimer's disease patients.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • But for students who have spent years—and significant financial sums—on their education, struggling to land one's first job may feel like a betrayal.
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
  • So this is a temporary hiccup—Indians will be unhappy, anti-Americanism will once again grow within the country’s strategic elite, and stories of American betrayals will persist for years.
    Happymon Jacob, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • A lot of disloyalty this season with lots of empty words.
    Dalton Ross, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Kennedy defended his top aide Stefanie Spear, who has been targeted by Loomer, over her seeming disloyalty to Trump.
    Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Their perfidy is memorialized in the English language, though.
    Evan Osnos, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
  • The prior month, Vice President JD Vance had lodged his own complaints about Europe’s alleged perfidy, threatening that the United States might withdraw its security guarantees from Europe if the EU continued to aggressively regulate U.S. tech companies.
    ANU BRADFORD, Foreign Affairs, 21 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inconstancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inconstancy. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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