inconstant

adjective

in·​con·​stant (ˌ)in-ˈkän(t)-stənt 

: likely to change frequently without apparent or cogent reason

inconstantly adverb

Synonyms

• capricious
• changeable
• changeful
• fickle
• flickery
• fluctuating
• fluid
• inconsistent
• mercurial
• mutable
• skittish
• temperamental
• uncertain
• unpredictable
• unsettled
• unstable
• unsteady
• variable
• volatile

Choose the Right Synonym for inconstant

inconstant, fickle, capricious, mercurial, unstable mean lacking firmness or steadiness (as in purpose or devotion).

inconstant implies an incapacity for steadiness and an inherent tendency to change.

an inconstant friend

fickle suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness.

performers discover how fickle fans can be

capricious suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability.

an utterly capricious critic

mercurial implies a rapid changeability in mood.

made anxious by her boss's mercurial temperament

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

Examples of inconstant in a Sentence

the inconstant nature of the business

our windjammer sailed wherever the inconstant winds took us

Recent Examples on the Web

The key finding is that as the distance grows greater, the coupling stops growing, and the inconstant constant becomes constant once more. —Stanley J. Brodsky, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024

Energy experts have been warning that electricity is likely to get more expensive and less reliable unless renewable power that waxes and wanes under inconstant sunlight and wind is backed up by generators that can run whenever needed. —IEEE Spectrum, 9 May 2024

In March, Johnson ordered the first national lockdown, caught COVID, and later spent three nights in the I.C.U. For months, the country staggered from one set of restrictions to the next—a reflection of Johnson’s inconstant attitude toward the virus. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Song as a different kind of time, as heroin became her own inconstant clock. —Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin inconstant-, inconstans, from in- + constant-, constans constant

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

inconstant

adjective

in·​con·​stant (ˈ)in-ˈkän(t)-stənt 

: likely to change frequently without apparent reason : changeable

Medical Definition

inconstant

adjective

in·​con·​stant ˈin-ˈkän(t)-stənt 

: not always present

an inconstant muscle