fickle

See also: Fickle

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɪk.əl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkəl

Etymology 1

From Middle English fikil, fikel, from Old English ficol (“fickle, cunning, tricky, deceitful”), equivalent to fike +‎ -le. More at fike.

Adjective

fickle (comparative fickler or more fickle, superlative ficklest or most fickle)

1. Quick to change one’s opinion or allegiance; insincere; not loyal or reliable.
   • c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v], page 69:

     O Fortune, Fortune, all men call thee fickle, / If thou art fickle, what doſt thou with him / That is renown'd for faith? be fickle Fortune: / For then I hope thou wilt not keepe him long, / But ſend him backe.

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XXVI, page 43:

     Still onward winds the dreary way;
     ⁠I with it; for I long to prove
     ⁠No lapse of moons can canker Love,
     Whatever fickle tongues may say.

   • 2010, James Murphy, “Home”, in This Is Happening, performed by LCD Soundsystem:

     As night has such a local ring / And love and rock are fickle things

2. (figurative) Changeable.
   • 2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)[1]

     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.

   fickle breeze

   fickle stock market

Derived terms

• fickle finger of fate
• fickleness
• ficklesome
• ficklety
• fickly
• fucked by the fickle finger of fate
• unfickle

Translations

quick to change one’s opinion or allegiance

• Armenian: հեղհեղուկ (hy) (heġheġuk)
• Belarusian: непастая́нны (njepastajánny), зме́нлівы (zmjénlivy)
• Bengali: খামখেয়ালী (khamkheẏali)
• Bulgarian: непостоя́нен (bg) (nepostojánen), проме́нлив (bg) (proménliv), отмятащ се (otmjatašt se)
• Catalan: inconstant (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 多變 / 多变 (zh) (duōbiàn), 薄情 (zh) (bóqíng) (in love)

• Czech: nestálý, přelétavý, vrtkavý (cs)
• Danish: lunefuld, vankelmodig, vægelsindet
• Dutch: wispelturig (nl), onbetrouwbaar (nl), onbestendig (nl), grillig (nl), onberekenbaar (nl)
• Esperanto: nefidinda
• Finnish: ailahteleva (fi), huikenteleva (fi), häilyvä (fi), vaihteleva (fi)
• French: inconstant (fr), volage (fr), lunatique (fr), indécis (fr), capricieux (fr)
• Galician: antolladizo (gl), caprichoso (gl), volúbel
• German: unbeständig (de), wankelmütig (de), wechselhaft (de), flatterhaft (de), launisch (de), unstet (de)
• Greek: άστατος (el) (ástatos), ευμετάβλητος (el) (evmetávlitos)
• Icelandic: hverflyndur, óstöðugur
• Italian: volubile (it), incostante (it), mutevole (it), capriccioso (it)
• Japanese: 気が多い (きがおおい, ki ga ōi), 気まぐれな (ja) (きまぐれな, kimagure na)
• Korean: 변덕(變德)스럽다 (byeondeokseureopda)
• Latin: inconstans, instabilis
• Macedonian: непо́стојан (nepóstojan), про́менлив (prómenliv)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vaklende, skiftende, ubestemmelig (no), vankelmodig

• Occitan: inconstant (oc), lunard, lunatenc, cambiadís (oc), lunatic, viradís (oc), capriciós (oc)
• Persian: دمدمی مزاج (damdami-mezâj)
• Portuguese: volúvel (pt), caprichoso (pt), volátil (pt)
• Romanian: capricios (ro), schimbător (ro), inconstant (ro)
• Russian: непостоя́нный (ru) (nepostojánnyj), ве́треный (ru) (vétrenyj), переме́нчивый (ru) (pereménčivyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: leam-leat
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: prevrtljiv (sh), nepostojan (sh), prevrtljiv (sh), mušičav (sh), hirovit (sh)

• Spanish: inconstante (es), veleidoso (es), voluble (es), pendular (es)
• Swedish: ombytlig (sv), nyckfull (sv)
• Tagalog: balimbing
• Turkish: caygın (tr), dönek (tr), kahpe (tr), kaypak (tr)
• Ukrainian: непості́йний (nepostíjnyj), неста́лий (nestályj), мінли́вий (uk) (minlývyj), змінли́вий (zminlývyj)

changeable

• Bengali: অস্থির (bn) (osthir)
• Czech: nestálý
• Dutch: veranderlijk (nl)
• Finnish: vaihteleva (fi)
• French: changeant (fr)
• German: wechselhaft (de), unbeständig (de), unstet (de)
• Latin: inconstans
• Macedonian: про́менлив (prómenliv), ме́нлив (ménliv)
• Maori: taurangi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skiftende, lunefull

• Occitan: cambiadís (oc)
• Romanian: schimbător (ro)
• Russian: переме́нчивый (ru) (pereménčivyj)

Etymology 2

From Middle English fikelen, from fikel (“fickle”); see above. Cognate with Low German fikkelen (“to deceive, flatter”), German ficklen, ficheln (“to deceive, flatter”).

Verb

fickle (third-person singular simple present fickles, present participle fickling, simple past and past participle fickled)

1. (transitive) To deceive, flatter.
2. (transitive, UK dialectal) To puzzle, perplex, nonplus.

Anagrams

• Fickel