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Webster 1913 Edition


Erratic

Er-rat′ic

,
Adj.
[L.
erraticus
, fr.
errare
to wander: cf. F.
erratique
. See
Err
.]
1.
Having no certain course; roving about without a fixed destination; wandering; moving; – hence, applied to the planets as distinguished from the fixed stars.
The earth and each
erratic
world.
Blackmore.
2.
Deviating from a wise of the common course in opinion or conduct; eccentric; strange; queer;
as,
erratic
conduct
.
3.
Irregular; changeable.
Erratic fever.”
Harvey.
Erratic blocks
,
gravel, etc.
(Geol.)
,
masses of stone which have been transported from their original resting places by the agency of water, ice, or other causes.
Erratic phenomena
,
the phenomena which relate to transported materials on the earth’s surface.

Er-rat′ic

,
Noun.
1.
One who deviates from common and accepted opinions; one who is eccentric or preserve in his intellectual character.
2.
A rogue.
[Obs.]
Cockeram.
3.
(Geol.)
Any stone or material that has been borne away from its original site by natural agencies; esp., a large block or fragment of rock; a bowlder.
☞ In the plural the term is applied especially to the loose gravel and stones on the earth's surface, including what is called drift.

Webster 1828 Edition


Erratic

ERRAT'IC

,
Adj.
[L. erraticus, from erro, to wander.] Wandering; having no certain course; roving about without a fixed destination.
1.
Moving; not fixed or stationary; applied to the planets, as distinguished from the fixed stars.
2.
Irregular; mutable.

Definition 2024


erratic

erratic

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

erratic (comparative more erratic, superlative most erratic)

  1. unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent
    Henry has been getting erratic scores on his tests: 40% last week, but 98% this week.
  2. Deviating from the common course in opinion or conduct; eccentric; odd.
    erratic conduct

Derived terms

Antonyms

Translations

Noun

erratic (plural erratics)

  1. (geology) A rock moved from one location to another, usually by a glacier.
    • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA 2003, p. 372:
      The term for a displaced boulder is an erratic, but in the nineteenth century the expression seemed to apply more often to the theories than to the rocks.
  2. Anything that has erratic characteristics.

Synonyms

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Anagrams