: marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability : given to erratic changeableness
fickleness
noun
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
But while the stock market is often a fickle friend, as are commodities such as oil and natural gas, wheat and corn, part of what was so shocking in 2022 was the simultaneous slump in government and corporate bonds, which proved as undependable as stocks.
—CNBC, 18 Feb. 2025
Because human beings are fickle and unpredictable in a way that computer programs are not, letting player input affect a story is dangerous business.
—Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2025
Modi has spoken of a warm relationship with the president, but Trump can be a fickle friend.
—Natasha Frost, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
Matthew will inevitably be cast out of Oliver’s circle–Oliver is fickle and insecure and sets his cohort against each other.
—Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 3 Feb. 2025
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.
CNBC, 18 Feb. 2025
Because human beings are fickle and unpredictable in a way that computer programs are not, letting player input affect a story is dangerous business.
—Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2025
Modi has spoken of a warm relationship with the president, but Trump can be a fickle friend.
—Natasha Frost, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
Matthew will inevitably be cast out of Oliver’s circle–Oliver is fickle and insecure and sets his cohort against each other.
—Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fickle
Cite this Entry
“Fickle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fickle. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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