Practice
Capricious: meaning, use, and examples
Sign in to saveA supervisor changes the rules after every meeting. You cannot predict what will apply tomorrow. Capricious names that kind of change.
Use capricious for a person, decision, mood, or condition that changes suddenly and unpredictably.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
capricious /kəˈprɪʃ.əs/
The short answer
Capricious means likely to change suddenly and unpredictably, often because of a whim rather than a clear reason.
The team struggled to plan around the director's capricious decisions.
Why it works: The decisions changed in a way the team could not reasonably predict.
4 more examples
-
The capricious landlord changed the viewing rules twice in one afternoon.
The landlord's changing rules are difficult for visitors to anticipate.
Not this:
The busy landlordchanged the viewing rules twice in one afternoon. What changes: Busy may explain a schedule problem, but it does not say that the rule changes were unpredictable. -
Capricious spring weather forced the organizers to move the event indoors.
The weather changed unexpectedly enough to affect a plan.
Not this:
Warm spring weatherforced the organizers to move the event indoors. What changes: Warm describes temperature. It does not explain why the organizers could not rely on the conditions. -
The committee asked for written criteria after several capricious funding decisions.
The committee wants a stable standard because the decisions seem to follow no clear pattern.
Not this:The committee asked for written criteria after several
quick funding decisions. What changes: Quick means made in little time. A quick decision can still follow a consistent rule. -
Her capricious mood made the conversation hard to continue.
Her mood changes suddenly, so the other speaker cannot tell how she will react.
Not this:
Her quiet moodmade the conversation hard to continue. What changes: Quiet describes one mood. It does not show sudden, unreliable changes.
Read the full guide
Choose capricious when the unreliable change matters. The word can describe a person, a decision, a mood, weather, or another condition. It often signals frustration when people need a stable basis for plans.
Start with an unpredictable change
Use capricious when a change seems to come from a sudden impulse and leaves people unable to predict the next step. A single change does not automatically make something capricious. The context should show an unreliable pattern or an arbitrary turn.
The shop's capricious opening hours made it hard for customers to plan a visit.
Use it before the thing that changes
Capricious usually comes before a noun. Common choices include manager, ruler, decision, rule, mood, weather, and fortune. You can write a capricious decision or say that a decision was capricious.
They could not budget accurately because the policy was capricious.
Show why the change is a problem
The word often carries criticism. Add the effect when it helps: people cannot plan, rules seem uneven, or a choice has no stated basis. This makes clear that you mean more than an ordinary revision.
Staff asked for a published process after the capricious changes to leave requests.
Separate capricious from nearby words
Fickle usually describes changing feelings, interests, or loyalties, as in a fickle fan. Whimsical describes an unusual choice that is playful or imaginative, which can be positive. Capricious is broader and stresses unpredictable action driven by a whim.
A fickle customer may change favorite brands. A capricious manager may change the rules without a clear basis. A whimsical illustrator may add a playful detail.
Choose the word from context
A local bus company changes its fare rules every week and gives no explanation. Is capricious suitable?
Yes. The unexplained, unpredictable changes make capricious suitable. You could say, Passengers complained about the company's capricious fare rules.
Before you go
Remember this
Use capricious before a noun when a sudden, hard-to-predict change is the point. It is stronger than changeable and often more critical. Choose fickle for changing loyalty or preference, and whimsical for a playful, imaginative choice.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Capricious: meaning, use, and examples"
What does capricious mean?
Capricious means changing suddenly and unpredictably, often because of a whim rather than a clear reason. It can describe a person, a decision, a mood, weather, or another changing condition.
The capricious landlord changed the viewing rules twice in one afternoon.
Is capricious positive or negative?
Capricious often sounds negative when it describes people, rules, or decisions because it suggests unreliability or unfairness. It can sound less critical with weather, luck, or a creative impulse, but it still means unpredictable.
The busy landlord changed the viewing rules twice in one afternoon.
What is the difference between capricious and fickle?
Fickle usually describes changing feelings, preferences, or loyalties. Capricious can describe those too, but it also fits sudden, arbitrary changes in decisions, rules, moods, and conditions.
Capricious spring weather forced the organizers to move the event indoors.
Can capricious describe weather?
Yes. Capricious weather changes suddenly and is hard to predict. Use the word when those changes affect preparation or plans, rather than when you only mean that the weather is warm, cold, or wet.
Warm spring weather forced the organizers to move the event indoors.
How do you pronounce capricious?
Say ca-PRISH-us, with the main stress on the second syllable. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈprɪʃ.əs/.
The committee asked for written criteria after several capricious funding decisions.