Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Determined by chance, impulse, or whim rather than by necessity or reason: Describes a person, decision, or action that is unpredictable and changes suddenly without a logical or apparent reason.
   • Changeable, subject to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior: Describes something that is erratic, fickle, or volatile in nature.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The manager's capricious decisions made it difficult for the team to plan.
  • She was known for her capricious taste in fashion, loving a style one day and hating it the next.
  • The capricious weather made it impossible to decide whether to pack for sun or rain.

Advanced Usage

• "Capricious" in a legal or formal context: Often used to describe arbitrary and unreasonable decisions by authorities, implying a lack of fair or consistent judgment.
  • The court ruled that the policy was capricious and violated principles of justice.

Variants and Related Words

• Capriciously (adverb): In a capricious manner.
  • He changed his mind capriciously.
• Capriciousness (noun): The quality of being capricious.
  • The capriciousness of the stock market makes investing risky.

Synonyms

• Whimsical: Acting or behaving in a playful or fanciful way.
• Fickle: Likely to change one's loyalties, interests, or affection frequently.
• Mercurial: Subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.
• Volatile: Liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse.
• Arbitrary: Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.

Antonyms

• Consistent: Acting or done in the same way over time.
• Steady: Firmly fixed, supported, or balanced; not changing.
• Predictable: Behaving or occurring in a way that is expected.
• Constant: Occurring continuously over a period of time.

Idioms and Phrases

• "A capricious fate": Refers to the unpredictable and often unfair nature of luck or destiny.
  • They were victims of a capricious fate, losing everything in a sudden storm.
• "Capricious as the wind": A simile emphasizing extreme unpredictability and changeability.
  • Her moods were as capricious as the wind.

Adjective

1. determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
   • a capricious refusal
   • authoritarian rulers are frequently capricious
   • the victim of whimsical persecutions
2. changeable
   • a capricious summer breeze
   • freakish weather