capricious
Changing suddenly and unpredictably.
ExampleThe ruler's capricious decisions made policy difficult to predict.
ExampleThe committee rejected the capricious rule because it lacked any consistent principle.
Usage Scenarios
Describing leadership
Use capricious when decisions change without clear reason.
ExampleThe monarch's capricious decrees made long-term planning impossible.
Evaluating rules
Use it when a rule is applied inconsistently.
ExampleThe policy seemed capricious because exceptions were granted at random.
Usage Guide
Use capricious when a GRE sentence emphasizes sudden changes, inconsistency, or lack of stable reasoning. It often carries a negative tone.
Useful chunks include capricious behavior, capricious decision, capricious ruler, and capricious policy when authority or conduct changes without stable reason.
Do not use capricious for ordinary flexibility. Capricious suggests arbitrary, unstable, or unpredictable change that creates a negative judgment.
Word Forms & Word Building
Capricious is built from caprice plus the adjective suffix -ious. The suffix turns the sudden-change noun into a describing word.
Capriciously is the -ly adverb: the rule was applied capriciously, meaning it was applied unpredictably.
Caprice is the noun meaning a sudden change of mind or whim, but capricious is the most useful GRE form.
Meaning Boundaries
Capricious vs flexible
Flexible can be positive and responsive. Capricious is negative because changes lack stable reason.
Capricious vs arbitrary
Arbitrary means based on no clear reason. Capricious adds the sense of sudden changeability.
Register
Capricious is formal and common in GRE passages about behavior, power, and judgment.
Memory Tricks
Think unpredictable mood swing, but apply it to decisions, rules, behavior, or leadership rather than ordinary variety.
Pair capricious with ruler or decision; GRE often uses authority contexts.
Look for clues like arbitrary, whimsical, inconsistent, or unpredictable.
Common Traps
Do not use capricious for weather unless the focus is unpredictable change.
Do not confuse capricious with cautious; capricious means changeable or arbitrary, while cautious means careful.
The tone is usually negative; avoid it for creative originality.