as in volatile
likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly
unpredictable spring weather that makes it really hard to know what to wear
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Recent Examples of unpredictable
Slotkin said farmers are feeling the impact of increasingly unpredictable and severe weather, including tornadoes, ice storms, and high winds.
—
Hannah McIlree, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
Alaska, with its vast distances and often unpredictable weather, also counts late-arriving ballots.
—Mark Sherman, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2026
In many ways, his season — and its ending — was unpredictable.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2026
For an unpredictable attraction, the destinations within the auroral oval are the closest to a sure thing.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unpredictable
Hannah McIlree, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
Alaska, with its vast distances and often unpredictable weather, also counts late-arriving ballots.
—Mark Sherman, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2026
In many ways, his season — and its ending — was unpredictable.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2026
For an unpredictable attraction, the destinations within the auroral oval are the closest to a sure thing.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unpredictable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unpredictable
Adjective
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Flying is the company’s second Nova-C lander named Athena featuring NASA’s PRIME-1 drill, to land a drill and mass spectrometer near the south pole of the moon in order to demonstrate the feasibility of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and measure the volatile content of subsurface samples.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Mar. 2026
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But tungsten prices are particularly volatile during wartime – it’s used in armor-piercing artillery.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
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Weak—or even nonexistent—overnight freezes have left the snowpack soft and unstable early in the day, limiting the window for safe travel.—
Callie Zanandrie,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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But sometime between 100 million and 200 million years ago, the moon's orbit became unstable, and a series of gravitational interactions sent Chrysalis on a fatal, grazing encounter with Saturn.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unpredictable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpredictable. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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