unpredictableadjective
uk/ˌʌn.prɪˈdɪk.tə.bəl/us/ˌʌn.prɪˈdɪk.tə.bəl/B2 likely to change suddenly and without reason and therefore not able to be predicted (= expected before it happens) or depended on:
The weather there can be unpredictable - one minute it's blue skies and the next minute it's pouring rain.
The hours in this job are very unpredictable - you sometimes have to work late at very short notice.
More examples
- She's very unpredictable so there's no knowing how she'll react to the news.
- Unfortunately the outcome of this kind of treatment can be rather unpredictable.
- He's fun to be with but can be a bit unpredictable at times, you never know what kind of mood he's going to be in.
- I really enjoy having a holiday in the UK, if only the weather weren't so unpredictable.
- The finishing time is a bit unpredictable, it depends how things go.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Changing frequently
- butterfly
- capricious
- changeable
- dipsy-doodle
- elasticity
- flighty
- fluidity
- inconstant
- inflammable
- kaleidoscopic
- mercurial
- mutable
- patchy
- shifting
- stutter
- turbulent
- variable
- volatile
- yo-yo
- zigzag
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unpredictability
noun [ U ] uk/ˌʌn.prɪˌdɪk.təˈbɪl.ə.ti/us/ˌʌn.prɪˌdɪk.təˈbɪl.ə.t̬i/
unpredictably
adverb uk/ˌʌn.prɪˈdɪk.tə.bli/us/ˌʌn.prɪˈdɪk.tə.bli/