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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective capricious differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of capricious are fickle, inconstant, mercurial, and unstable. While all these words mean "lacking firmness or steadiness (as in purpose or devotion)," capricious suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability.

an utterly capricious critic

When can fickle be used instead of capricious?

In some situations, the words fickle and capricious are roughly equivalent. However, fickle suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness.

performers discover how fickle fans can be

Where would inconstant be a reasonable alternative to capricious?

Although the words inconstant and capricious have much in common, inconstant implies an incapacity for steadiness and an inherent tendency to change.

an inconstant friend

When could mercurial be used to replace capricious?

The meanings of mercurial and capricious largely overlap; however, mercurial implies a rapid changeability in mood.

made anxious by her boss's mercurial temperament

When might unstable be a better fit than capricious?

While the synonyms unstable and capricious are close in meaning, 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 capricious Given the administration’s capricious approach to economic policy, experts warn to expect continued turbulence. Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2025 This process is complicated by design — a design intended to protect universities from capricious, politically motivated meddling and to make the withdrawal of federal funding an option of last resort. M. Gessen, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2025 Writers who lived in the Roman Empire portrayed judges as capricious, unaccountable or swayed by menacing crowds. Nathanael Andrade, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2025 To take a broad example, installing a capricious social media app that records your clicks, interactions, and outbound visits is not something that e/OS/ can protect you from. Ewan Spence, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for capricious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for capricious
Adjective
  • Other big miners, including archrivals BHP, Anglo American and Glencore, have steered clear of lithium, am important metal in batteries, but one which is also abundantly available puts suffers from extremely volatile pricing.
    Tim Treadgold, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
  • Unlike volatile digital assets like bitcoin, the value of stablecoins is tied to a real-world asset like fiat currencies or commodities like gold.
    Dylan Butts, CNBC, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Lori, impulsive and headstrong in her own way, won’t let Ruth slip away so easily.
    Zac Ntim, Deadline, 17 May 2025
  • Grandchildren who are close to grandparents are more secure, perform better in school and are less impulsive.
    Mark Gerson, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2025
Adjective
  • As federal environmental policy undergoes rapid and often unpredictable shifts through reversals, reinterpretations and sometimes outright dismantling, businesses are left navigating a compliance landscape that feels more like quicksand than solid ground.
    John F. McQuillan, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
  • John Daly and Tiger Woods share a legendary and unpredictable bond.
    Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
Adjective
  • Plus this mischievous creature had a lot of eccentric friends.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
  • There are also new characters for guests to greet and learn their lore — an eccentric monster hunter and a talented musician who regales guests with songs and tales.
    Samantha Neely, USA Today, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
Adjective
  • Frustrated by long 311 hold times or inconsistent trash pickup?
    Melanie La Rocca, New York Daily News, 27 May 2025
  • This is at odds with the concept of getting the most out of every customer deal by wielding inconsistent discounts and surcharges when certain situations arise.
    Chris Mele, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Adjective
  • Stage 1: In this stage, inflammation, as well as loose or unstable joints, is present.
    Isabel Casimiro, Verywell Health, 22 May 2025
  • Unfortunately, modeling variations on this orbit through time indicated that 98 percent of them were unstable within 50 million years.
    John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 22 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Capricious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/capricious. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.

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