1
Unpredictable decision
A choice that changes according to whim rather than reason.
Example
The capricious policy shifted whenever a new official took office.
capricious
/kəˈprɪʃəs/ · kuh-PRISH-uhsadjective
Given to sudden, unpredictable changes in mood, behaviour, or decision.
Use capricious when choices or conditions change abruptly according to impulse rather than a stable principle or pattern.
What capricious Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Changeable behaviour
Conduct marked by sudden and unexplained reversals.
Example
Her capricious approval made long-term planning difficult.
3
Unstable conditions
Patterns, such as weather, that vary sharply and unpredictably.
Example
Farmers adapted to the region's capricious rainfall.
Use capricious Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The capricious policy shifted whenever a new official took office.
A capricious market can punish even careful investors.
The region's capricious weather complicates planting decisions.
Precision Matters
Capricious overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
capricious
vs.Often implies change driven by whim or impulse.
erratic
Means irregular and unpredictable without implying a motive.
capricious
vs.May describe decisions, rules, or conditions as well as temperament.
mercurial
Often describes rapid shifts in mood or temperament.
capricious
vs.Emphasises unpredictable change.
arbitrary
Emphasises lack of a reasoned standard.
capricious
vs.Changes unpredictably.
consistent
Follows a stable pattern—the contrast.
Test capricious in Context
The decisions change unpredictably and appear governed by whim.
1
Because the committee approved nearly identical proposals one month and rejected them the next without offering a principle for the difference, applicants viewed its decisions as ___.