adj

erratic

ih-RA-tihk

adj

Unpredictable and inconsistent; changing without any clear pattern.

"The bus service has been erratic all week, sometimes early and sometimes an hour late."

"His erratic behavior worried his colleagues."

noun

A large boulder carried far from its origin by a glacier and left behind when the ice melted.

"Hikers stopped to photograph the massive granite erratic sitting alone in the field."

How to Use Erratic

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishBehaving or happening in a way that keeps changing unpredictably, with no steady pattern.

Common mistake

Erratic describes unpredictable behavior or patterns, not simply "wrong" — a heartbeat can be erratic without being an error.

Common pairings

erratic behavior erratic driving erratic weather patterns

more erratic comparative, erratics plural, most erratic superlative

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Can you complete this real example?

The bus service has been _____ all week, sometimes early and sometimes an hour late.

From Latin errāticus, "wandering," from errāre, "to wander or stray" — the same root that gives us "error" and "err."

consistent

standard eccentric normal consistent steady

static aquatic fanatic hepatic lunatic aromatic ecstatic operatic dramatic climatic emphatic Adriatic

consistent standard eccentric normal steady