capricious
adjective/kəˈprɪʃəs/
/kəˈprɪʃəs/
(formal)- showing sudden changes in attitude or behaviour synonym unpredictable
- a movie star who was capricious and difficult to please
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- changing suddenly and quickly synonym changeable
- a capricious climate
- They had to contend with capricious economic forces.
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from French capricieux, from Italian from capriccio, literally ‘head with the hair standing on end’, hence ‘horror’, later ‘a sudden start’ (influenced by capra ‘goat’, associated with frisky movement), from capo ‘head’ + riccio ‘hedgehog’.
Check pronunciation:
capricious