Vicissitude: meaning, example and synonyms
Vicissituden. An unexpected change of circumstances or fortune, usually for the worse.
Example
The historian traced how one merchant family survived every vicissitude of the grain trade, from sudden droughts to collapsing prices, across four generations.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Synonyms
- fluctuation, reversal, upheaval, change of fortune
- Antonyms
- stability, constancy, permanence
- Memory tip
- Latin vicis = turn, change (as in vice versa): fortune taking turns.
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Check yourself: Vicissitude in context
Over its three centuries the small vineyard endured every ______ of fortune, from blights that ruined entire harvests to wars that scattered its workers.
Answer: vicissitude. Blights and wars are sudden shifts of fortune for the worse: vicissitude. Onomatopoeia (sound-words), palimpsest (layered reuse) and vanity (self-pride) don't describe changing fortunes.
The economist's model accounts for each sudden ______ of the market, such as an unexpected crop failure, rather than assuming prices will remain stable.
Answer: vicissitude. A sudden, unexpected change contrasted with stability is a vicissitude. Apotheosis (highest point), onomatopoeia (sound-word) and vanity (pride) don't fit a market shock.