Fickle Meaning
/ˈfɪk.əl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjQuick to change one’s opinion or allegiance; insincere; not loyal or reliable.
adjChangeable.
Sentence Examples
The weather is fickle.
Man is as fickle as autumn weather.
Women are fickle and anyone who trusts them is a fool.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ weather changed from sunny to rainy within minutes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The weather in the mountains can be very ____, changing from bright sunshine to heavy rain in minutes.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English fikil, fikel, from Old English ficol (“fickle, cunning, tricky, deceitful”), equivalent to fike + -le. More at fike.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 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:
"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."
— 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 43:
"As night has such a local ring / And love and rock are fickle things"
— 2010, James Murphy, “Home”, in This Is Happening, performed by LCD Soundsystem:
"2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)https://web.archive.org/web/20150212214621/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text
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."
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ weather changed from sunny to rainy within minutes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The weather in the mountains can be very ____, changing from bright sunshine to heavy rain in minutes.