— fickleness , n.
/fik"euhl/ , adj.
1. likely to change, esp. due to caprice, irresolution, or instability; casually changeable: fickle weather.
2. not constant or loyal in affections: a fickle lover.
[ bef. 1000; ME fikel, OE ficol deceitful, akin to facen treachery, fician to deceive, gefic deception ]
Syn. 1. unstable, unsteady, variable, capricious, fitful. 2. inconstant. 1, 2 . FICKLE, INCONSTANT, CAPRICIOUS, VACILLATING describe persons or things that are not firm or steady in affection, behavior, opinion, or loyalty. FICKLE implies an underlying perversity as a cause for the lack of stability: the fickle seasons, disappointing as often as they delight; once lionized, now rejected by a fickle public.
INCONSTANT suggests an innate disposition to change: an inconstant lover, flitting from affair to affair. CAPRICIOUS implies unpredictable changeability arising from sudden whim: a capricious administration constantly and inexplicably changing its signals; a capricious and astounding reversal of position. VACILLATING means changeable due to lack of resolution or firmness: an indecisive, vacillating leader, apparently incapable of a sustained course of action.