Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Characterized by erratic changeableness or instability, especially with regard to affections or attachments; capricious.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Disposed or acting so as to deceive; deceitful; treacherous; false in intent.
- Inconstant; unstable; likely to change from caprice, irresolution, or instability: rarely applied to things except in poetry or by personification.
- Perilous; ticklish.
- Synonyms Variable, mutable, changeable, unsteady, unsettled, vacillating, fitful, volatile.
- To deceive; flatter.
- To puzzle; perplex; nonplus.
Wiktionary
- adj. Quick to change one’s opinion or allegiance; insincere; not loyal or reliable.
- v. transitive To deceive; flatter.
- v. transitive To puzzle; perplex; nonplus.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Not fixed or firm; liable to change; unstable; of a changeable mind; not firm in opinion or purpose; inconstant; capricious.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. liable to sudden unpredictable change
- adj. marked by erratic changeableness in affections or attachments
Etymologies
- From Middle English fikelen, from fikel ("fickle"); see above. Cognate with Low German fikkelen ("to deceive, flatter"), German ficklen, ficheln ("to deceive, flatter"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English fikel, from Old English ficol, deceitful. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The word fickle give me that big pickle baby come on now you know you want to come on come on come on, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, baby!”
“Instead the sense was that the mood of the crowd could change rapidly; the word fickle is used in the definitions.”
podictionary - for word lovers - dictionary etymology, trivia & history
“How many people does that happen to in the so-called fickle word of fashion.”
The Huffington Post: Jess Blanch: Vogue Paris: Let the People Weigh in
“Especially in the so-called fickle word of fashion.”
The Huffington Post: Jess Blanch: Vogue Paris: Let the People Weigh in
“I'm afraid most of the nay sayers to me are just plain fickle.”
“But there are impediments, namely the fickle nature of the draft and the growing impatience among fans and current players to win.”
The Washington Post: Adam Dunn and free agency: the Nationals' strategy and its risks
“Walsingham describes as fickle as a reed, siding at one time with the lords and at another time with the king (689) — Richard was driven to temporise.”
“And yet, in this instance, having become thoroughly convinced that he had been treating a deserving man with injustice, he had the moral courage to reverse his conduct, to unsay what he had before said, and to incur the risk of being called fickle or changeable by doing what he now believed to be the right thing.”
“Mistress Niobe was ready — since fair means of recalling the fickle Apollo failed — to resort to foul.”
“I should call fickle, exactly, but he is weak, or timid, rather.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘fickle’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
-
Impressionism
Words that describe the art of the impressionist era.
seascapes, landscapes, modern, impression, impressionist, contemporary, flicker, sensation, modernity, perceived, perceiving, momentary and 142 more...
-
Naresh_Special
portent, organically, malicious, sham, olfactory, vertebrates, protuberance, sensilla, flagitious, pleonastic, exiguous, wayward and 102 more...
-
old timey talk
Words or Sayings from the 1920's or whatever that no one really uses anymore (at least in that context).
scram, bearcat, heavens to betsy, dick, double-cross, ducky, gams, goofy, hooch, jalopy, john, joe and 174 more...
-
Pickle and such
Words that end like pickle. Listed here because they're funny (because they end like pickle).
pickle, sparkle, yokel, tinkle, fickle, prickle, trickle, circle, snorkel, ensnorkel, chuckle, buckle and 137 more...
-
Morte d'Arthur.04
grim, hermitage, serge, piety, requiem, fitful, usurper, induced, desolation, enmity, adder, fickle and 3 more...
-
Random Words! Add Your Own! :D
Randomness time! Add your own words. ❤
Love, bucket, brigade, actuary, canal, canasta, why is the door open, coconut, stochastic, haphazard, accidental, chance and 38 more...
-
Filter 1
Hard words level 1
besotted, altricial, consecrate, consternate, desuetude, detractor, dissolute, divisive, emaciated, enamored, ensconce, garishly and 76 more...
-
PMPope's list
Words for Words
asterix, garrulous, ampersand, exclaimation, ponderous, fickle, finale, etheric, solar, astronomic, plummeting, fogline and 33 more...
-
big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
-
SAT words
abase, abate, abet, abject, abjure, abrogate, abscond, abstruse, accolade, accommodating, accost, accretion and 202 more...
-
Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 2369 more... -
words unknown
repeat!!!
laissez faire, propensity, punitive, explicit, whim, extenuating, distort, gross, grossly, hearsay, dispel, apprehensive and 113 more...
-
Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
-
africasunsets's list
serendipity, fragrance, glamour, smitten, nourish, lavish, luxury, wicked, gem, daring, soothe, fantasy and 192 more...
-
Junk
walrus, fascination, broadway, fickle, downturn, bridge, gargle, rotunda, mesh, fab, shortlife, strumming and 304 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for fickle.
dontcry The pronunciator (aka Mike) is very fickle. Jan 22, 2010
sonofgroucho As in the Fickle Finger of Fate. Jan 22, 2007