vicissitude
an unpredictable change or variation in circumstances
Word origin: From Latin vicis, turn or change.
Vicissitude in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing vicissitude in a sentence.
Through all the vicissitudes of fortune, she kept her composure.
The memoir traces the vicissitudes of an immigrant family across booms, busts, and three changes of fortune.
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Verbal · Sentence Equivalence
Although she had every reason to gloat after the verdict, the attorney remained blank, accepting the win without a hint of boastfulness.
Using “vicissitude” well
Vicissitude means an unpredictable change or variation in circumstances, often used in the plural for life's ups and downs. It is the opposite of constancy or stability.
More GRE words starting with V
to waver indecisively between options or opinions
the inability to decide between different courses of action; wavering
total absence of thought, ideas, or substance
empty of meaning, substance, or intelligence
a person who roams from place to place with no fixed home
an unpredictable or capricious change or notion
a person who wanders without a settled home or work
excessively boastful and vain about one's achievements
Questions about “vicissitude”
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