ERRATIC

erratic, fickle, mercurial, quicksilver

(adjective) liable to sudden unpredictable change; “erratic behavior”; “fickle weather”; “mercurial twists of temperament”; “a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next”

erratic, temperamental

(adjective) likely to perform unpredictably; “erratic winds are the bane of a sailor”; “a temperamental motor; sometimes it would start and sometimes it wouldn’t”; “that beautiful but temperamental instrument the flute”- Osbert Lancaster

erratic, planetary, wandering

(adjective) having no fixed course; “an erratic comet”; “his life followed a wandering course”; “a planetary vagabond”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

erratic (comparative more erratic, superlative most erratic)

unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent

Deviating from normal opinions or actions; eccentric; odd.

Antonyms

• consistent

Noun

erratic (plural erratics)

(geology) A rock moved from one location to another, usually by a glacier.

Anything that has erratic characteristics.

Synonyms

• (glaciers): dropstone

Anagrams

• Cartier, cirrate, rice rat

Source: Wiktionary


Er*rat"ic, a. Etym: [L. erraticus, fr. errare to wander: cf. F. erratique. See Err.]

1. Having no certain course; roving about without a fixed destination; wandering; moving; -- hence, applied to the planets as distinguished from the fixed stars. The earth and each erratic world. Blackmore.

2. Deviating from a wise of the common course in opinion or conduct; eccentric; strange; queer; as, erratic conduct.

3. Irregular; changeable. "Erratic fever." Harvey. Erratic blocks, gravel, etc. (Geol.), masses of stone which have been transported from their original resting places by the agency of water, ice, or other causes.

– Erratic phenomena, the phenomena which relate to transported materials on the earth's surface.

Er*rat"ic, n.

1. One who deviates from common and accepted opinions; one who is eccentric or preserve in his intellectual character.

2. A rogue. [Obs.] Cockeram.

3. (Geol.)

Definition: Any stone or material that has been borne away from its original site by natural agencies; esp., a large block or fragment of rock; a bowlder.

Note: In the plural the term is applied especially to the loose gravel and stones on the earth's surface, including what is called drift.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

25 February 2025

ENDLESSLY

(adverb) (spatial sense) seeming to have no bounds; “the Nubian desert stretched out before them endlessly”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest coffee shop is the Al Masaa Café, which has 1,050 seats. The coffee shop was inaugurated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 13 August 2014.

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