erratic
deviating from the usual or proper course in conduct or opinion; eccentric: erratic behavior.
inconsistent, irregular, or unpredictable: Many factors affect purchasing power, such as inflation and erratic swings in the stock market.
having no certain or definite course or pattern; wandering; not fixed: erratic winds.
Geology. noting or pertaining to a boulder or the like carried by glacial ice and deposited some distance from its place of origin.
(of a lichen) having no attachment to the surface on which it grows.
an erratic or eccentric person.
Geology. an erratic boulder or the like.
Origin of erratic
1Other words for erratic
Opposites for erratic
Other words from erratic
- er·rat·i·cal·ly, adverb
- er·rat·i·cism, noun
- non·er·rat·ic, adjective, noun
- un·er·rat·ic, adjective
Words that may be confused with erratic
Words Nearby erratic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use erratic in a sentence
Moreover, snowballing agricultural crises like avian flu and ASF can make meat prices extremely erratic.
How China Could Change the World by Taking Meat Off the Menu | Charlie Campbell/Shanghai | January 22, 2021 | TimeThe state agency has tried to give local health providers consistent information about how many doses they’ll receive at their clinics and hospitals, but Avula said state officials will have to instead explain the erratic allocations.
How Operation Warp Speed Created Vaccination Chaos | by Caroline Chen, Isaac Arnsdorf and Ryan Gabrielson | January 19, 2021 | ProPublicaUntil relatively recently, the Mid-Atlantic was a region where the winters seemed longer, colder and, most importantly, not so erratic.
Climate change has altered the winter season and the gardener’s sense of it | Adrian Higgins | January 6, 2021 | Washington PostA startup CEO told us how she fundraised while quarantining with six children, and a newspaper editor shared how she kept up with an erratic news cycle while helping her seven kids learn from home.
A wave of populism has led many governments around the world to rule in an increasingly erratic fashion.
FiscalNote raises $160 million to help companies track government legislation | Jeff | December 4, 2020 | Fortune
The animation is beautifully rendered and the storytelling top notch even if the pacing is, at times, erratic.
This Author Kills More Darlings Than George R.R. Martin | David Levesley | September 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHer arms strapped back, Lehmberg tells the officials “this erratic behavior is going to ruin my career.”
What the Hell Just Happened in Texas, and Why Was Rick Perry Just Indicted? | Olivia Nuzzi | August 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the months following the alleged incident, his behavior became erratic.
John McCain was an erratic RINO who turned a hundred years old on the campaign trail.
Reanimated and Ready: The Unstoppable Huckenstein | James Poulos | January 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHis erratic behaviour in handling Russian oil pipelines prompted Moscow to seek alternative routes of supply.
Forget Kim Jong Un—China’s New Favorite Dictator Is Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko. | Kapil Komireddi | January 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOf course they have made up their minds you are erratic, and have not the least doubt that they can manipulate that loose screw.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonIt was as though, where everything was strange, Henri's erratic comings and goings were but a part with the rest.
The Amazing Interlude | Mary Roberts RinehartAn erratic firefly wandered down from the overhanging branches, then commenced to dart from side to side near her head.
Menotah | Ernest G. HenhamIt was a hopeless fight, and has sent into the erratic political parties the majority of the independent working men now in them.
The Leaven in a Great City | Lillian William BettsSo far the sentiment had been rather more doubtful and erratic than determined.
Radio Boys Loyalty | Wayne Whipple
British Dictionary definitions for erratic
/ (ɪˈrætɪk) /
irregular in performance, behaviour, or attitude; inconsistent and unpredictable
having no fixed or regular course; wandering
a piece of rock that differs in composition, shape, etc, from the rock surrounding it, having been transported from its place of origin, esp by glacial action
an erratic person or thing
Origin of erratic
1Derived forms of erratic
- erratically, 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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