Definition of inconstantnext
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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective inconstant differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of inconstant are capricious, fickle, mercurial, and unstable. While all these words mean "lacking firmness or steadiness (as in purpose or devotion)," inconstant implies an incapacity for steadiness and an inherent tendency to change.

an inconstant friend

When could capricious be used to replace inconstant?

The meanings of capricious and inconstant largely overlap; however, capricious suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability.

an utterly capricious critic

Where would fickle be a reasonable alternative to inconstant?

While in some cases nearly identical to inconstant, fickle suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness.

performers discover how fickle fans can be

When can mercurial be used instead of inconstant?

While the synonyms mercurial and inconstant are close in meaning, mercurial implies a rapid changeability in mood.

made anxious by her boss's mercurial temperament

When would unstable be a good substitute for inconstant?

The words unstable and inconstant can be used in similar contexts, but 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 inconstant The self is a shifting, inconstant phenomenon, brain and body ever transforming in time and space, with no clear delineation between what is self and what is other. Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025 If the United States is an unreliable partner and a source of chaos these countries will turn elsewhere, building new security and trade alliances that don’t depend on the inconstant, waning superpower. Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 27 May 2025 Much like a patient who fails to finish a course of antibiotics, inconstant policies may incur all the costs and none of the benefits. David Carlin, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025 The key finding is that as the distance grows greater, the coupling stops growing, and the inconstant constant becomes constant once more. Stanley J. Brodsky, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024 See All Example Sentences for inconstant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inconstant
Adjective
  • That will entail the coöperation of finance and industry, which, weary of the current Administration’s volatile economic and foreign policy, are likely to support a challenger who can steady the boat.
    Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The deep, indomitable and occasionally volatile Penguins soared again on Saturday.
    Josh Yohe, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Russell fabricates a lie with the rest of the villains, and the heroes believe it, despite a warning from one traitorous tribemate.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025
  • That video drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who deemed it traitorous.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 25 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Your finances are the focus as unpredictable Uranus stations direct in your 2nd House of Resources, stalled money moves unstick, so a raise chat or subscription cleanup suddenly looks worth action.
    Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
  • Complaints about low wages and unpredictable schedules for associates were rising.
    Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Despite the growth, a recent poll shows 20% of potential EV buyers are concerned about unreliable charging networks.
    Keith Laing, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
  • The serious water issues in Dixmoor were in the headlines as far back as 2021, as multiple main breaks resulted in boil orders, schools shutting down, and unreliable water pressure.
    Todd Feurer, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • The racist imagery is strategically embedded within a larger narrative promoting false election fraud conspiracy theories, designed to dehumanize Black and brown voters as threats to democracy and to justify restricting their participation in elections.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
  • The Iranian shadow fleet consists of tankers and associated companies that operate outside normal commercial channels, often using false identities, ship-to-ship transfers, and deceptive documentation to hide Iranian crude and refined products.
    Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • This is clear on entry, as the exhibition floor itself is turned into a series of unstable ramps that rise and fall, echoing the references to the promises and disappointments of modern life that permeate the show.
    K. Desbouis, Artforum, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Like all successful paranoid art, the core of the story is unstable.
    James Folta, Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Ah, but excitement can be fleeting in the treacherous era of AI, and the cafe’s clever marketing team admitted the Puerto Rican music star hadn’t actually been here.
    Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Neighbors said the intersection where this deadly crash happened is part of a stretch of road that often turns treacherous, and there are safety changes that need to be made to benefit pedestrians and drivers alike.
    Marissa Perlman, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Inconstant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inconstant. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.

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