Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fickle

/ˈfɪk.əl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.12 in modern English

Syllables: fick-le
IPA: /ˈfɪk.əl/

15

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Quick to change one’s opinion or allegiance; insincere; not loyal or reliable.

adj

verb

To deceive, flatter.

Transitive verb

verb

To puzzle, perplex, nonplus.

British usage; Transitive verb

name

Example Sentences

"O Fortune, Fortune, all men call thee fickle, / If thou art fickle, what doſt thou with him / That is renown'd for faith? be fickle Fortune: / For then I hope thou wilt not keepe him long, / But ſend him backe."
"Still onward winds the dreary way; ⁠I with it; for I long to prove ⁠No lapse of moons can canker Love, Whatever fickle tongues may say."
"As night has such a local ring / And love and rock are fickle things"
"fickle breeze"
"fickle stock market"
"2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)https://web.archive.org/web/20150212214621/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text To the south, the vast geometrical deserts of Arabian nomads, a redoubt of feral movement, of fickle winds, of open space, of saddle leather—home to the wild Bedouin tribes."

Etymology

From Middle English fikil, fikel, from Old English ficol (“fickle, cunning, tricky, deceitful”), equivalent to fike + -le. More at fike.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: fikil, ficol, fikelen
Suffix: fike

Usage

Transitive verb
British usage

Inflected Forms

fickler (comparative) more fickle (comparative) ficklest (superlative) most fickle (superlative) fickles (present, singular) fickling (participle, present) fickled (participle, past) fickled (past) Fickles (plural)

Derived Forms

fickleness ficklesome ficklety fickly unfickle

Phrases

fickle finger of fate fickle mistress fucked by the fickle finger of fate

Synonyms

flighty capricious mercurial erratic vertiginous roving quicksilver volatile

Rhymes With

nickel pickle trickle tickle sickle mikel nicol brickell nicoll nicholl nickle mickle

Questions

How do you pronounce fickle?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfɪk.əl/.
What does fickle mean?: Quick to change one’s opinion or allegiance; insincere; not loyal or reliable.
Where does fickle come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce fickle

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fickle”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfɪk.əl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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