erratic

(ĭ-răt'ĭk)
adj.

1. Having no fixed or regular course; wandering.
2. Lacking consistency, regularity, or uniformity: an erratic heartbeat.
3. Deviating from the customary course in conduct or opinion; eccentric: erratic behavior.

[Middle English erratik, from Old French erratique, from Latin errāticus, from errāre, to wander.]

erratically er·rat'i·cal·ly adv.
erraticism er·rat'i·cism (-ĭ-sĭz'əm) n.

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adjective

1. Without a fixed or regular course: devious, stray, wandering. See purpose/purposelessness.
2. Lacking consistency or regularity in quality or performance: inconsistent, patchy, spotty, uneven, unsteady, variable. See continue/stop/pause, same/different/compare.
3. Following no predictable pattern: capricious, changeable, fantastic, fantastical, fickle, freakish, inconsistent, inconstant, mercurial, temperamental, ticklish, uncertain, unpredictable, unstable, unsteady, variable, volatile, whimsical. See change/persist, continue/stop/pause.
4. Deviating from the customary: bizarre, cranky, curious, eccentric, freakish, idiosyncratic, odd, outlandish, peculiar, quaint, queer, quirky, singular, strange, unnatural, unusual, weird. Slang kooky, screwball. British Slang rum, rummy². See usual/unusual.

adj

Definition: unpredictable; wandering
Antonyms: certain, consistent, definite, dependable, predictable, regular, reliable, steady, sure, unchanging

A large boulder of rock which has been transported by a glacier so that it has come to rest on country rock of different lithology; all erratic blocks in northern Germany, for example, originated in Scandinavia. Agassiz used the presence of erratics, such as rocks originating in Scotland but now found in Anglesey, as evidence of glaciation in the British Isles.

IN BRIEF: Likely to change. Also: Wandering.

If you ride your bicycle in an erratic manner in the street, you will confuse drivers about where you are going.

Tutor's tip: The audience was "erratic" (moving unevenly) leaving the theater after watching an "erotic" (relating to or arousing sexual desires or feelings) film.

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For a list of words related to erratic, see:

• Materials, Formations, and Substances - erratic: large stone or boulder carried by glacier to place where it rests on bedrock of different composition
• Excessive, Mad, Insane, or Radical
• Agitation, Abnormality, and Instability - erratic: (adj) peculiar, inconsistent, or unpredictable in behavior

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See words rhyming with "erratic."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Erratic.

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Common misspelling(s) of erratic

• eratic

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - uberegnelig, uregelmæssig, usikker
n. - excentriker, vandreblok

Nederlands (Dutch)
dwalend, grillig, excentriek, verplaatst (geologisch), onregelmatig

Français (French)
adj. - erratique, imprévisible, capricieux, irrégulier, fantasque, (Géol, Méd) erratique
n. - erratique

Deutsch (German)
adj. - sprunghaft, launisch, erratisch, ungleichmäßig
n. - Findling, Sonderling

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - εκκεντρικός, αλλοπρόσαλλος, άτακτος, ακανόνιστος

Italiano (Italian)
capriccioso, erratico, irregolare

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - errante, excêntrico

Русский (Russian)
чудак, неустойчивый, рассеянный, непостоянный, неравномерный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - excéntrico, extravagante, original, voluble, irregular, errático, desigual
n. - excéntrico, extravagante, errático, persona errática o excéntrica

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - underlig, excentrisk, oregelbunden, irrande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
不稳定的, 奇怪的, 古怪的人, 漂泊无定的人

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 不穩定的, 奇怪的
n. - 古怪的人, 漂泊無定的人

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 엉뚱한, 변덕스러운
n. - 괴짜, 변덕쟁이, 표석

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 常軌を逸した, 軌道の定まらない, 一貫性のない, 不安定な, 移り気の
n. - 迷子石

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) شاذ, ضال, شارد‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮לא-קבוע, לא-יציב, בלתי-צפוי, גחמני, לא-בטוח‬
n. - ‮אדם לא-יציב או מוזר‬

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