errant
deviating from the regular or proper course; erring; straying.
journeying or traveling, as a medieval knight in quest of adventure; roving adventurously.
moving in an aimless or lightly changing manner: an errant breeze.
Origin of errant
1Other words from errant
- er·rant·ly, adverb
- non·er·rant, adjective
- non·er·rant·ly, adverb
- un·er·rant, adjective
- un·er·rant·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with errant
- arrant, errant
Words Nearby errant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use errant in a sentence
The death of innocents at American hands, whether by errant bombs or in the fog of war, would undercut the war’s moral purpose.
The critics of war in Afghanistan proved prescient | Jeremy Varon | August 26, 2021 | Washington PostBlood carried the therapy to the liver, where it switched off the mutated gene and curtailed production of the errant protein.
Breakthrough CRISPR Gene Therapy Could Be a ‘One and Done’ Injection | Jason Dorrier | July 1, 2021 | Singularity HubThough, when an errant volleyball failed to knock it off the picnic table on which it was sitting, the extra heft came in handy.
Sonos Move speaker review: Great sound in a semi-portable package | empire | June 25, 2021 | Popular-ScienceHighly flammable solvents are used to make lipids, so cellphones must be encased in special covers to prevent errant sparks.
Inside Pfizer’s race to produce the world’s biggest supply of covid vaccine | Christopher Rowland | June 16, 2021 | Washington PostJosh Bell, who is not the fastest runner — or the next-fastest runner, for that matter — chugged home from first, his dash aided by an errant throw from left fielder Justin Williams to the cut-off man.
Max Scherzer and the Nationals overcome a howling wind to end their homestand on a high | Jesse Dougherty | April 21, 2021 | Washington Post
When Schettino commanded him to turn the ship, he can be heard repeating errant commands.
The Costa Concordia’s Randy Reckless Captain Takes the Stand | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSome things have changed a lot since 1984 when the errant Father Buck wrote to his young love interest.
The errant flashes of light in your brain depicting this possibility are strong enough to make you wince and want to cry.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq | Nathan Bradley Bethea | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut perhaps another errant remark by Hickenlooper recorded at the meeting sums up the whole imbroglio best.
Why Is Colorado’s Governor Now Bashing His Own Gun-Control Laws? | David Freedlander | June 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGone were the ugly memories of errant throws to the wrong bases or ill-advised cutoffs.
To be checkmated by an 'errant' pawn in the very middle of the board is a most ignominious way of losing the game.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerFor two days he had faced death, fighting like a legionary or a knight-errant, and in short playing the hero.
Overland | John William De ForestChasing an errant swarm of bees is nothing to following a naked lunatic when the fit of escaping is upon him!
Dracula | Bram StokerHe ought to have been born six or seven hundred years ago, he would have made a delightful knight-errant.
A Roving Commission | G. A. HentyAs I live his horse is a mule—what a pity it was not some knight-errant!
The Tiger Hunter | Mayne Reid
British Dictionary definitions for errant
/ (ˈɛrənt) /
archaic, or literary wandering in search of adventure
erring or straying from the right course or accepted standards
Origin of errant
1Derived forms of errant
- errantly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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