Erratic vs Stray - What's the difference?
erratic | stray |
unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
Deviating from the common course in opinion or conduct; eccentric; odd.
(geology) A rock moved from one location to another, usually by a glacier.
* 2003 , (Bill Bryson), A Short History of Nearly Everything , BCA 2003, p. 372:
Anything that has erratic characteristics.
Any domestic animal that has an enclosure, or its proper place and company, and wanders at large, or is lost; an estray.
(figuratively) One who is lost, either literally or metaphorically.
The act of wandering or going astray.
(historical) An area of common land or place administered for the use of general domestic animals, i.e. "the stray"
To wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out of the way.
* Denham
To wander from company, or from the proper limits; to rove at large; to roam; to go astray.
(figurative) To wander from the path of duty or rectitude; to err.
* November 2 2014 , Daniel Taylor, "
To cause to stray.
* 1591 , , V. i. 51:
Having gone astray; strayed; wandering; as, a stray horse or sheep.
In the wrong place; misplaced.
As adjectives the difference between erratic and stray
is that erratic is unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent while stray is having gone astray; strayed; wandering; as, a stray horse or sheep.As nouns the difference between erratic and stray
is that erratic is (geology) a rock moved from one location to another, usually by a glacier while stray is any domestic animal that has an enclosure, or its proper place and company, and wanders at large, or is lost; an estray.As a verb stray is
to wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out of the way.erratic
English
Alternative forms
* erratick, erraticke, erratique (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- Henry has been getting erratic scores on his tests: 40% last week, but 98% this week.
- erratic conduct
Derived terms
* erraticallyAntonyms
* consistentNoun
(en noun)- The term for a displaced boulder is an erratic , but in the nineteenth century the expression seemed to apply more often to the theories than to the rocks.
Anagrams
*stray
English
Noun
(en noun)Verb
(en verb)- Thames among the wanton valleys strays .
Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk
- It was a derby that left Manchester United a long way back in Manchester City’s wing-mirrors and, in the worst moments, straying dangerously close to being their own worst enemy.
- Hath not else his eye / Strayed his affection in unlawful love,
Synonyms
* deviateAdjective
(-)- a stray comma