Fickle vs Erratic - What's the difference?
fickle | erratic |
Quick to change one’s opinion or allegiance; insincere; not loyal or reliable.
(figurative) changeable
* 2014, (Paul Salopek), Blessed. Cursed. Claimed. , National Geographic (December 2014)[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text]
To deceive; flatter.
To puzzle; perplex; nonplus.
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.
As adjectives the difference between fickle and erratic
is that fickle is quick to change one’s opinion or allegiance; insincere; not loyal or reliable while erratic is unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent.As a verb fickle
is to deceive; flatter.As a noun erratic is
a rock moved from one location to another, usually by a glacier.fickle
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) fikil, fikil, from (etyl) {{term, ficol, , fickle, cunning, tricky , deceitful, lang=ang}}, equivalent to . More at (l).Adjective
(en-adj)- To the south, the vast geometrical deserts of Arabian nomads, a redoubt of feral movement, of fickle winds, of open space, of saddle leather—home to the wild Bedouin tribes.
Derived terms
* (l) * (l)Etymology 2
From (etyl) fikelen, from .Verb
(fickl)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.