unpredictable

adjective

ˌən-pri-ˈdik-tə-bəl How to pronounce unpredictable (audio)
Definition of unpredictablenext
as in volatile
likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly unpredictable spring weather that makes it really hard to know what to wear

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unpredictable Size matters The first objection was that lightning strikes were intermittent and unpredictable. — Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2025 Beyond that, this standard caveat can’t be stressed enough: Elections can be unpredictable, especially low-turnout, off-year special elections. — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Mar. 2025 Democrats have failed to take down Trump so now are targeting the unpredictable Musk and DOGE as the villain of the new Republican administration. — Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 13 Mar. 2025 Zoom in: The confusing back-and-forth nature of the federal cuts has created an unpredictable obstacle course for TSU leaders. — Adam Tamburin, Axios, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for unpredictable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unpredictable
  1. volatile
  2. changeful
  3. unstable
Adjective
  • In Haiti, there hasn’t been a general election in nearly a decade; more than a million have been displaced by armed gang violence and the country’s volatile capital is on the verge of collapse.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2025
  • Listen to this article For about nine minutes, Tiara Lee-Roberts and her girlfriend had a volatile argument on the 69th Street Red Line platform, prosecutors alleged, until Lee-Roberts put a gun to the woman’s neck and shot her.
    — Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025
Definition of volatile
Adjective
  • Hers is the kind of face that inspires directors to tight framing — gleaming, as if smoothed from marble, and yet somehow pliant, changeful.
    — Jordan Kisner Jack Davison, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2022
  • Rigorous, blustery winter; winding sleety spring; hot, moist enervating summer; changeful autumn with its dog-days; these are absolutely unknown.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Jan. 2023
Definition of changeful
Adjective
  • Sudan has faced years of chaos and war Sudan, a nation in northeastern Africa, has been unstable since a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocratic President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir in 2019.
    — Samy Magdy and Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Vietnam already has a shortage of labor, and the situation in Bangladesh is unstable at this time.
    — Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 20 Mar. 2025
Definition of unstable

Browse Nearby Words

unpredictability
unpredictable
unpredictably
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Cite this Entry

“Unpredictable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpredictable. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.

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