Erratic: meaning, example and synonyms
Erraticadj. Not regular or consistent in pattern or movement; unpredictable.
Example
The patient's erratic heart rhythm, which shifted without warning between rapid and sluggish beats, puzzled the cardiologists monitoring him.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Synonyms
- irregular, unpredictable, inconsistent, volatile
- Antonyms
- steady, consistent, regular, predictable
- Memory tip
- Erratic shares a root with err and errant: wandering off course.
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Check yourself: Erratic in context
The satellite's ______ orbit, which swung unpredictably closer to and farther from the planet, puzzled engineers until they discovered a faulty thruster.
Answer: erratic. An orbit that swings unpredictably is irregular. Banal, disingenuous and imperious can't describe a satellite's path.
The patient's sleep had become so ______ that she might rest twelve hours one night and barely two the next.
Answer: erratic. Twelve hours one night and two the next is inconsistent. Ingenuous, imperious and banal don't describe an irregular pattern.