fickle
/ˈfɪk(ə)l
/adjective
Changing frequently, especially as regards one’s loyalties or affections: celebs trying to appeal to an increasingly fickle public...
- Rock music is a harsh world, presided over by a fickle, unforgiving public.
- Now the impression is of a fickle politician who has lots of ideas but no staying power to see them through.
- Holidaymakers are a fickle lot, and the next time they might just stay away once and for all.
Synonyms
capricious, changeable, variable, volatile, mercurial, vacillating, fitful, irregular;
inconstant, disloyal, undependable, unstable, unsteady, unfaithful, faithless;
irresolute, flighty, giddy, skittish, erratic, impulsive;
unpredictable, random
informal blowing hot and cold
technical labile
literary mutable
Derivatives
fickly
- A boss will hire a foreign visa worker, then fickly "let him go" during the probationary period.
- Introduced more than 40 years ago, the Chevy Malibu has endured numerous body style changes and consumers' fickly buying patterns.
Origin
Old English ficol 'deceitful', of Germanic origin.