Erratic Meaning
/ɪˈɹætɪk/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjUnsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent.
adjDeviating from normal opinions or actions; eccentric; odd.
Sentence Examples
We had to lessen the impact of the erratic supplies.
Dan began an erratic sexual relationship with his youngest aunt, Linda.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ behavior worried his friends and colleagues alike.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car's ____ behavior suggested that there was a problem with the engine.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English erratik, erratyk, from Latin errāticus; compare Old French erratique.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The V-2's directional system was notoriously erratic. In May 1947, a V-2 launched from White Sands Proving Ground headed south instead of north, missing downtown Juarez, Mexico, by 3 miles."
— 2010, Mary Roach, “You Go First: The Alarming Prospect of Life Without Gravity”, in Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 90:
"The term for a displaced boulder is an erratic, but in the nineteenth century the expression seemed to apply more often to the theories than to the rocks."
— 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, page 372:
"During the last ice-age, massive stones were carried for miles by the scouring glaciers, only to be left, like passengers at the end of the line, when the glaciers retreated. Stranded in their new surroundings with rocks with which they share no common geology, their out-of-place-ness is evoked by their name: “erratics”."
— 2015 May 4, Dominick Tyler, “10 UK landscape features that you’ve probably never heard of”, in The Guardian:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ behavior worried his friends and colleagues alike.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car's ____ behavior suggested that there was a problem with the engine.