: marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability : given to erratic changeableness
fickleness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of fickle in a Sentence
The Weak will suck up to the Strong, for fear of losing their jobs and their money and all the fickle power they wielded only twenty-four hours ago.
—
Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2004
The corporate fan who has replaced the core fan is a fickle beast, choosy about which games he'll use his precious free time to attend.
—E. M. Swift, Sports Illustrated, 15 May 2000
A failed play was a denial of what Odets was owed, for he was chasing the public no differently than did his bourgeois and nonrevolutionary contemporaries, a public as fickle as it always was and is.
—Arthur Miller, Harper's, March 1999
War is like hard-drug abuse or a fickle lover, an apparently contradictory bolt of compulsion, agony and ecstasy that draws you back in the face of better judgment time and time again.
—Anthony Loyd, My War Gone By, 1999
He blames poor sales on fickle consumers.
a fickle friendship that was on and off over the years
Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2004
The corporate fan who has replaced the core fan is a fickle beast, choosy about which games he'll use his precious free time to attend.
—E. M. Swift, Sports Illustrated, 15 May 2000
A failed play was a denial of what Odets was owed, for he was chasing the public no differently than did his bourgeois and nonrevolutionary contemporaries, a public as fickle as it always was and is.
—Arthur Miller, Harper's, March 1999
War is like hard-drug abuse or a fickle lover, an apparently contradictory bolt of compulsion, agony and ecstasy that draws you back in the face of better judgment time and time again.
—Anthony Loyd, My War Gone By, 1999
He blames poor sales on fickle consumers.
a fickle friendship that was on and off over the years
Recent Examples on the Web
The fickle politics of Numenor make our own political system look pretty awesome by comparison.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024
For buyers brave enough to dip their toes in the water, the market has been fickle.
—Andrea Riquier, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024
Just as importantly, even if European armies have the capacity to take the mission on, would European governments, defined by fickle politics back home, have the political will to approve the mission, let alone sustain it over a long period of time?
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Keeping hair thick and lustrous can be a fickle affair.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 18 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fickle 
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.
Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024
For buyers brave enough to dip their toes in the water, the market has been fickle.
—Andrea Riquier, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024
Just as importantly, even if European armies have the capacity to take the mission on, would European governments, defined by fickle politics back home, have the political will to approve the mission, let alone sustain it over a long period of time?
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Keeping hair thick and lustrous can be a fickle affair.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 18 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fickle
Dictionary Entries Near fickle
Cite this Entry
“Fickle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fickle. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fickle
adjective
fick·le
ˈfik-əl 
: likely to change frequently without good reason : inconstant
fickle friends
fickleness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share