English Reference
Adjective

capricious

adj.
C1 Advanced US /kəˈpɹɪʃəs/ UK /kæpɹˈɪʃəs/ capri·cious

adj.changing your mind or your behavior very quickly and without a clear reason. You use this to describe someone who is unpredictable or someone who makes decisions based on their mood.

adj.governed by impulse rather than by reason or calculation; subject to sudden and unaccountable changes of mind or mood. Often used to describe legal or administrative decisions that lack a consistent basis.


SIMPLE

The weather in this valley is very capricious.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager's capricious nature made it difficult for the team to plan their projects in advance.

COMPLEX

The court ruled that the board's decision to terminate the contract was capricious, as there was no evidence of a consistent policy or a legitimate business reason for the change.

Since Trump's first term, Seoul has seen his seemingly capricious approach to diplomacy as both a risk and an opportunity.

BBC News· 20 Aug 2026

In June, three ICC judges sued the Trump administration over the sanctions, calling them an “arbitrary and capricious” means of curtailing the court’s judicial independence.

Al Jazeera· 18 Aug 2026

Borrowed from Middle French capricieux, from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio. By surface analysis, caprice + -ious.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Italian capriccioso
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated