erratic
Definitions
Not even or regular in pattern; moving or changing unpredictably.
（行为、变化）不规律的，飘忽不定的，难以预测的。
(Of a person) unpredictable, inconsistent, or eccentric in behavior.
（指人）反复无常的，古怪的。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivederrat- (the wandering form of errāre) + -ic (having the nature of) = 'of the nature of wandering.' Erratic keeps the root's literal image: something that roams with no fixed course, zigzagging unpredictably. Unlike erroneous (simply 'wrong'), erratic is about lack of pattern, not about being mistaken.
Root err still carries 7 more wordsWhy It Means This
Of the whole err family, erratic is where you can still see the Roman traveler with no road. The geological term makes it concrete: a glacial 'erratic' is a boulder carried far from its origin and dropped in a strange place — a rock that literally wandered. From that image comes everything erratic means today: a heartbeat, a market, or a temperament that moves with no reliable pattern.
Common Collocations
- 1.erratic behavior反复无常的行为
- 2.erratic driving飘忽的驾驶
- 3.erratic performance起伏不定的表现
- 4.wildly erratic极其不稳定
- 5.erratic heartbeat心跳不规律
Example Sentences
- 1.
His erratic driving made everyone in the car nervous.
- 2.
The stock market has been erratic all week, swinging wildly.
- 3.
She became increasingly erratic, missing meetings and changing plans hourly.
Synonym Comparison
- erratic — wandering with no pattern; unpredictable ups and downs
- unpredictable — you can't tell what comes next (neutral, broad)
- inconsistent — not staying the same; uneven in quality
- volatile — liable to sudden, violent change (markets, tempers)
- eccentric — odd or unconventional (about character, not danger)