capricious

English

Etymology

From French capricieux, from Italian capriccioso.

Adjective

capricious (comparative more capricious, superlative most capricious)

1. Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim

   I almost died in a capricious winter storm.

   Stringent rulers are unlikely to act capriciously.

   The Mayor claimed that the action was reasonable, but in reality the action was arbitrary and capricious in nature.

   • 1877, Henry James, The American:

     "Capricious?" And at this monsieur began to laugh. "Oh no, I'm not capricious. I am very faithful. I am very constant. Comprenez?"

Usage notes

• Capricious can describe both a person and the decisions they make.

Synonyms

• whimsical
• arbitrary

Derived terms

• capriciously

Related terms

• caprice
• arbitrary and capricious

Translations

Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim

Breton: froudennek (br) Bulgarian: капризен (bg), непостоянен (bg), непредвидим (bg) Danish: uberegnelig (da), uforudsigbar (da)/uforutsigbar (da) Dutch: grillig (nl) Esperanto: kaprica (eo) German: kapriziös (de), launenhaft (de), unberechenbar (de) Hungarian: szeszélyes (hu) Icelandic: duttlungasamur (is) m., mislyndur (is) m., kenjóttur (is) m., dyntóttur (is) m., duttlungafullur (is) m.

Indonesian: sulit diduga, licin, licik Lithuanian: įnoringas (lt) Norwegian: uberegnelig (no), uforutsigbar (no) Polish: nagły (pl) m., kapryśny (pl) Romanian: capricios (ro) Russian: капризный (ru) (kaprizniy) m. Spanish: caprichoso (es), antojadizo (es) Swedish: oberäknelig (sv), oförutsägbar (sv) Turkish: kaprisli (tr)