Standard Lemma guide

erratic

adj · noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪˈɹætɪk/
  • Australian, Canada, General-American: /ɪˈɹætɪk/
  • Australian, Canada, General-American: [ɪˈɹæɾɪk]
  • Australian, Canada, General-American: /əˈɹætɪk/
  • Australian, Canada, General-American: [əˈɹæɾɪk]
  • Queensland Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • New-Zealand: /əˈɹɛtək/
  • New-Zealand: [əˈɹɛɾək]
  • rhymes with -ætɪk
  • CMU ARPABET: IH0 R AE1 T IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Henry has been getting erratic scores on his tests: 40% last week, but 98% this week.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mercurial

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Deviating from normal opinions or actions; eccentric; odd.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • erratic conduct

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A rock moved from one location to another, usually by a glacier.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Anything that has erratic characteristics.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

liable to sudden unpredictable change

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • erratic behavior
  • fickle weather
  • mercurial twists of temperament
  • a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fickle, mercurial, quicksilver(a)

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

likely to perform unpredictably- Osbert Lancaster

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • erratic winds are the bane of a sailor
  • a temperamental motor; sometimes it would start and sometimes it wouldn't
  • that beautiful but temperamental instrument the flute

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: temperamental

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

having no fixed course

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an erratic comet
  • his life followed a wandering course
  • a planetary vagabond

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: planetary, wandering

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English erratik, erratyk, from Latin errāticus; compare Old French erratique.

Across languages

Translations

64 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: անկանոն (ankanon) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Armenian: անհաստատ (anhastat) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Armenian: անկայուն (ankayun) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Bulgarian: непостоянен (nepostojanen) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Bulgarian: изменчив (izmenčiv) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Catalan: erràtic — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Danish: tilfældig — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Dutch: onregelmatig — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Finnish: epätasainen — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Finnish: epäsäännöllinen — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Finnish: epävakaa — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Finnish: ailahteleva — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • French: erratique — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • German: erratisch — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • German: unstet — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • German: unregelmäßig — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • German: unberechenbar — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Greek: αλλοπρόσαλλος (alloprósallos) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Hungarian: szabálytalan — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Hungarian: egyenetlen — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Hungarian: szeszélyes — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Hungarian: kiszámíthatatlan — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Hungarian: rapszodikus — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Hungarian: megbízhatatlan — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Latin: erraticus — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Māori: horehore — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Māori: hārakiraki — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Māori: hikimoke — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Māori: ikimoke — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Portuguese: errático — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Russian: неравномерный (neravnomernyj) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Russian: нерегулярный (nereguljarnyj) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Serbo-Croatian: eratičan — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Serbo-Croatian: iregularan — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Serbo-Croatian: neravnomjeran — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Serbo-Croatian: nekonzistentan — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Spanish: inconstante — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Spanish: irregular — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Spanish: errático — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Ukrainian: нестійки́й (nestijkýj) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Ukrainian: непослідо́вний (neposlidóvnyj) — unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
  • Danish: uberegnelig — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Danish: slingrende — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • German: gestört — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • German: verhaltensauffällig — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • German: erratisch — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • German: verwirrt — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Hungarian: bizarr — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Hungarian: fura — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Hungarian: szokatlan — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Hungarian: bogaras — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Māori: whanokē — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Spanish: trastornado — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Ukrainian: дивни́й (dyvnýj) — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Ukrainian: чудерна́цький (čudernácʹkyj) — deviating from normal opinions or actions
  • Cornish: men gwandrus — rock
  • Danish: vandre- — rock
  • Finnish: siirtolohkare — rock
  • German: Findling — rock
  • Norwegian Bokmål: flyttblokk — rock
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: flyttblokk — rock
  • Portuguese: bloco errático — rock
  • Spanish: bloque errático — rock
  • Swedish: flyttblock — rock
Real reading context

erratic in complete knowledge articles