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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 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 Energy experts have been warning that electricity is likely to get more expensive and less reliable unless renewable power that waxes and wanes under inconstant sunlight and wind is backed up by generators that can run whenever needed. IEEE Spectrum, 9 May 2024 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
  • Hundreds of people were killed in days of violence that shattered Kenya’s status as a stable democracy in a volatile region.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The film tracks their volatile relationship amid Kerr’s professional highs and lows in MMA, including his substance abuse struggles.
    Zack Sharf, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Clarisse looks intimidating climbing out of a boat, as does Bushnell’s traitorous Luke, who wields a sharp-looking knife.
    Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 24 July 2025
  • There's a delicious whodunit aspect to it, too, as the list of five potentially traitorous suspects includes the operative's own high-profile wife (Cate Blanchett).
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • As the tournament unfolds, all eyes will be on how players navigate the unpredictable greens and whether the LPGA’s course care efforts can hold up under the heat.
    Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Stanfield co-stars as Grofield, his quick-thinking partner-in-crime who’s part actor, part hustler, and wholly unpredictable.
    Okla Jones, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Despite the novel’s use of the unreliable female narrator trope, Stone wanted to avoid that altogether.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Oct. 2025
  • The rest of the reservation is connected to the grid, but the power is unreliable and outages can sometimes last days.
    Nate Perez, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025
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
  • In his plea agreement, Jones admitted using his company to submit more than $2 million in false bills to the Foundation for audiovisual services.
    Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
  • If convicted of bank fraud or making false statements, the penalties could include up to 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines for each count, the DOJ says.
    Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • These lasers can produce massive amounts of light, but the beam is often unstable and difficult to control.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2025
  • But just because everything else is feeling unstable, this is almost the straw that breaks the camel's back for him.
    Patrick Gomez, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Two of the astronauts will then transfer to the Starship HLS, which will carry them down to the moon’s south pole, a treacherous area pockmarked with steep craters.
    Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
  • My Titleist ProV1x was waist-high on a treacherous side-hill lie.
    Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inconstant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inconstant. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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