erratic Hear it!

erratic Definition

er·ratic (i ratik)

adjective

  1. having no fixed course or purpose; irregular; random; wandering
  2. deviating from the normal, conventional, or customary course; eccentric; queer
  3. Geol. designating a boulder or rock formation transported some distance from its original source, as by a glacier

Etymology: ME erratik < OFr erratique < L erraticus, wandering < pp. of errare: see err

noun

an erratic person

erratic Related Forms

er·rati·cally adverb

erratic Synonyms

erratic

modif.

  1. Strange

    eccentric, queer, irregular, capricious; see unusual 2.

  2. Variable

    inconsistent, unpredictable, inconstant; see aimless, changeable 1, 2, random.

  3. Wandering

    shifting, directionless, unfixed, rambling; see aimless, wandering 1.

erratic Usage Examples

Preposition: at

time: The learning curve can be a little erratic at times, however.

Adjective modifier

glacial: In the lower lying alpine most of the caves have been scoured away or filled in with glacial erratics.

Modifies a noun

  • boulder: Samson's putting stone - a glacial erratic boulder can be seen up on the hillside to the right.
  • rainfall: The maize harvest fell by 32 per cent due to erratic rainfall during the agricultural season.
  • behavior: The positive impact of foreign aid is limited by the erratic behavior of aid flows.
  • behavior: Having the lid on the wrong way round results in very erratic behavior!
  • display: I have not yet discovered a suitable solution to the erratic display of this data.
  • spelling: He may than sequence his records by this entry rather than by the original erratic spelling.

Modifying Another Word

  • somewhat: How Jacqui puts up with my somewhat erratic working practices, I don't know!
  • increasingly: Against: Increasingly erratic, Sir Alex has been known to throw the odd boot in his time.
  • rather: Wrote a rather erratic account of Prices first visit.
  • sometimes: In fact, our only major gripe would be a sometimes erratic camera.
  • extremely: Climate Can be extremely erratic these are very small islands in a very big ocean.
  • quite: By this time things had calmed down quite a lot and my contractions had become quite erratic, I was feeling pretty low.

Infinitive complement

  • germinate: Keep moist, shade from direct sunlight, slow and erratic to germinate.
  • say: Results of late have been erratic to say the least ending with last nights fightback to win at QPR.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: At the same time, the monthly hormonal cycle becomes more erratic.
  • remain: Inspectors ' reports were full of praise; however, attendance remained erratic.
  • appear: With the exception of certain cations, changes in available mineral nutrient levels appeared erratic.
  • seem: Its handling seemed erratic, so we kept a lookout.

Browse dictionary entries near erratic

  1. errata
  2. errantry
  3. errant
  4. errand runner
  5. errand
  6. errancy
  7. err
  8. erotomania
  9. erotogenic
  10. erotize
  1. erratically
  2. erratum
  3. erring
  4. Errol
  5. erroneous
  6. error
  7. error control
  8. error control mode
  9. ersatz
  10. Erse