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as in fluctuation
the frequent and usually sudden passing from one condition to another the inconstancy of public opinion is such that today's hero may be tomorrow's punching bag

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 inconstancy Years of naval inconstancy with repair work drove Vigor Industrial—a once vibrant and growing maritime conglomerate—into the welcoming arms of hedge funds, which wasted no time in striping the company of value. Craig Hooper, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 In the nineteen-nineties and two-thousands, as the center-left was evolving, the label was most effectively applied to those telegenic figures—Bill and Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, John Edwards—who were suspected of ideological inconstancy and of substituting polls for principles. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2022 But, in the hands of the Fleet Foxes, the pastoral feels less like a particular zone in time and more like a space in which to parse ideas of self-reliance, the inconstancy of love, the pain of intimacy, the fear of loss, the sting of betrayal, and the strange but urgent project of hope. Brandon Taylor, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2022 Here, Calabazas appears to be holding a toy windmill in one hand and, in the other, a miniature portrait of a woman, perhaps intended by Velázquez as a commentary on the inconstancy of love. Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2023 Due to his inconstancy and Angie’s growing attachment, their flimsy relationship operated on a timescale of eras coalescing into matters of historical record. Hannah Gold, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022 Over the past 20 years, the United States has undermined its own global leadership by inconstancy. Damon Linker, The Week, 9 June 2021 An acidic trickle of disenchantment, especially regarding Bellow’s inconstancy with women and family, runs through it. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2021 Magill’s recollection, recounted in Blum’s Morgenthau biography, captures a typical moment of presidential inconstancy. Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inconstancy
Noun
  • The story follows two neighbors, played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung, who form a deep, unspoken connection after suspecting their spouses of infidelity.
    Janey Tracey, EW.com, 7 Feb. 2025
  • On top of that, Hegseth had to pay for his two divorces, at least in part due to his own infidelity.
    Kyle Khan-Mullins, Forbes, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The market seems a little confused about how to grade Disney’s report, evidenced by the stock’s fluctuation between gains and losses.
    Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 5 Feb. 2025
  • This negative outcome is attributed to various market factors, including possible fluctuations in crude oil prices and operational challenges.
    Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 31 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • At the time of the case, Bryant admitted to adultery with a 19-year-old resort hotel worker in Colorado but denied the rape allegations, always maintaining that the encounter was consensual.
    George Ramsay, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025
  • The article included other remarks related to Carter’s faith − such as the importance of the separation of church and state, a conviction born of Carter’s Southern Baptist upbringing − but the adultery comment opened a rift with Carter’s kin in Christ.
    John Bacon, USA TODAY, 31 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • The manual-wind movement incorporates the watchmaker’s trademark large 15 mm balance wheel that hides a secret poising method that allows for symmetrical oscillations without the use of peripheral weights.
    Carol Besler, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2024
  • The device’s temperature, oscillation, mode, and timer can be controlled on the convenient LED display panel.
    Clara McMahon, People.com, 30 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • In this big data set spanning seventy-one years, people have become increasingly likely to choose cooperation over betrayal.
    Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025
  • What would be the lasting effects of this betrayal from Helena, and how does that seep into how the characters feel about Helly?
    Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Another document, likely written by an officer, recorded acts of disloyalty by North Korean subordinates - a common practice in the totalitarian state, where citizens are encouraged to inform on each other.
    Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
  • Emanuel also happens to be Trump’s former agent, making the president regard Emanuel’s campaign contributions as an even greater magnitude of disloyalty, this source says.
    Chris Lee, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Those intrepid few who still clung to the belief that American perfidy shielded Duke’s players from true justice just had the rug pulled out from under them by Mangum herself.
    The Editors, National Review, 17 Dec. 2024
  • Putin inundates Ukraine’s airwaves with propaganda about the West’s perfidy, the West’s agonizingly slow and insufficient support of Ukraine, the West’s seeming willingness to bleed Ukraine as a proxy, Zelensky’s anti-democratic centralization of power, and the like.
    Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near inconstancy

Cite this Entry

“Inconstancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inconstancy. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

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