capricious

Contents

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From French capricieux, from Italian capriccioso, from Italian capriccio. Details: see there.

AdjectiveEdit

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 notesEdit

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

SynonymsEdit

• whimsical
• arbitrary

AntonymsEdit

• conscientious
• rigorous

Derived termsEdit

• capriciously

Related termsEdit

• caprice

TranslationsEdit

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

• Breton: froudennek (br)
• Bulgarian: капризен (bg) ‎(kaprizen), непостоянен (bg) ‎(nepostojanen), непредвидим ‎(nepredvidim)
• Danish: uberegnelig, uforudsigbar/uforutsigbar
• Dutch: grillig (nl), wispelturig (nl)
• Esperanto: kaprica
• French: capricieux (fr)
• German: kapriziös (de), launenhaft, unberechenbar (de)
• Hungarian: szeszélyes (hu)
• Icelandic: duttlungasamur m, mislyndur (is) m, kenjóttur (is) m, dyntóttur m, duttlungafullur m
• Indonesian: sulit diduga, licin (id), licik (id)

• Lithuanian: įnoringas
• Norwegian: uberegnelig, uforutsigbar
• Polish: nagły (pl) m, kapryśny (pl)
• Portuguese: impulsivo, imprevisível (pt)
• Romanian: capricios (ro)
• Russian: капризный (ru) m ‎(kapriznyj)
• Spanish: caprichoso (es), antojadizo
• Swedish: oberäknelig (sv), oförutsägbar (sv)
• Thai: ตามอำเภอใจ ‎(tāmxảp̣hexcı)
• Turkish: kaprisli (tr)