erratic

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /əˈrætɪk/ UK /ɪˈrætɪk/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
irregular or unpredictable in movement, behavior, or quality

His erratic driving alarmed the other passengers.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · irregular or unpredictable... unpredictable irregular inconsistent unstable capricious fitful mercurial

Opposites

steady consistent regular predictable stable

Word family

Forms erratically

Derived forms erraticallyerraticism

Related forms err error errant erroneous

Etymology

From Old French erratique, from Latin erraticus 'wandering, straying', from errare 'to wander, stray'.

erraticus Latin errare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# erratic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** əˈrætɪk
**IPA (UK):** ɪˈrætɪk

## Meanings
1. irregular or unpredictable in movement, behavior, or quality

## Examples
- His erratic driving alarmed the other passengers.

## Synonyms
- unpredictable
- irregular
- inconsistent
- unstable
- capricious
- fitful
- mercurial

## Antonyms
- steady
- consistent
- regular
- predictable
- stable

## Derived Forms
- erratically
- erraticism

## Related Forms
- err
- error
- errant
- erroneous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: erraticus
- Root: errare

## Etymology
From Old French erratique, from Latin erraticus 'wandering, straying', from errare 'to wander, stray'.

## AI Etymology
Erratic comes from Old French erratique, from Latin erraticus 'wandering, straying', from errare 'to wander, stray'. The etymological trail includes Latin erraticus and Latin errare. As an adjective, erratic describes what is irregular or unpredictable in movement, behavior, or quality. The same family is visible in derived forms such as erratically and erraticism and related forms such as err, error, errant, and erroneous.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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erratic

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