capricious
/kəˈpɹɪʃəs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.79 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim.
Example Sentences
- "I almost died in a capricious winter storm."
- "Stringent rulers are unlikely to act capriciously."
- "I am heere with thee, and thy Goats, as the moſt capricious Poet honeſt Ouid was among Gothes."
- ""Capricious?" And at this monsieur began to laugh. "Oh no, I'm not capricious. I am very faithful. I am very constant. Comprenez?""
- "Although much has been learned about lightning and its effects through research and study, many questions are still unanswered and the upper limits of voltage, current and total energy that may be associated with lightning are not conclusively defined. The apparent capricious nature of lightning is evidenced by the range of extremes as well as, in some cases, the unique nature of the damage that results. Thus, to predict in the absence of physical evidence the exact mechanism of ignition in this particular case is not possible. By the same reasoning, in view of the known facts of this accident, there is no logical explanation for ignition of the flammable vapors other than some effect stemming directly from the lightning strike."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French capricieux, from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio. By surface analysis, caprice + -ious.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: capricieux, capriccioso
Inflected Forms
more capricious (comparative)
most capricious (superlative)