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GRE vocabulary

capricious

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore C words

given to sudden and unpredictable changes of mood or behavior

Word origin: From Italian capriccio, a sudden whim.

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In a sentence

Capricious in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing capricious in a sentence.

The capricious manager praised the plan one day and scrapped it the next.

Funding for the lab depended on the capricious moods of a single donor.

Antonyms
steadyconstantconsistent

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Verbal · Text Completion

The novelist's late style is admired precisely for its blank: every superfluous phrase has been pared away, leaving prose of startling economy.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “capricious” well

Capricious describes behavior or changes that are impulsive and without clear reason, usually with a critical tone.

Common questions

Questions about “capricious”

Capricious (adjective) means given to sudden and unpredictable changes of mood or behavior
Here is capricious used in an example sentence: "The capricious manager praised the plan one day and scrapped it the next." Another example: "Funding for the lab depended on the capricious moods of a single donor."
Common synonyms for capricious include fickle, whimsical, volatile, mercurial.
Antonyms of capricious include steady, constant, consistent.
Capricious commonly travels with mercurial, fickle, and whimsical. Its opposites, steady and constant, are frequent answer choices.
Yes. Capricious is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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