especially: a boulder or block of rock transported from its original resting place especially by a glacier
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Erratic can refer to literal "wandering". A missile that loses its guidance system may follow an erratic path, and a river with lots of twists and bends is said to have an erratic course. Erratic can also mean "inconsistent" or "irregular". So a stock market that often changes direction is said to be acting erratically; an erratic heartbeat can be cause for concern; and if your car idles erratically it may mean that something's wrong with the spark-plug wiring.
eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior.
the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers
erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating.
a friend's suddenly erratic behavior
odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected.
an odd sense of humor
quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness.
a quaint fishing village
outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric.
outlandish fashions of the time
Example Sentences
AdjectiveMy sinker has been my most erratic pitch. And when your foundation pitch is lacking, you have to go to other pitches. My sinker has been in and out, but mostly out. Orel Hershiser, in New York Times, 9 May 1999In winning his two-month match in Yugoslavia against Boris Spassky, 10 games to five, Bobby Fischer was erratic, which was hardly surprising considering his two-decade layoff, but there were times when he played more brilliantly than anybody could have expected.Sports Illustrated, 16 Nov. 1992Over the centuries, in erratic ways, men have constructed a world in which they are relatively free of many kinds of threatening or harmful stimuli … B. F. Skinner, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, (1971) 1972 so far your effort to land a summer job has been very erratic because of your erratic attendance at practice, you're in danger of being cut from the team
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
His attorneys' theme throughout their case has been to show how his birth mother's alcohol abuse during pregnancy put him onto a lifelong path of erratic, bizarre and often violent behavior that culminated in the shootings.CBS News, 16 Sep. 2022 At Rady Shell concerts this year, the amplification has been erratic at times, but whoever ran the board on Friday did a great job.San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2022 From erratic behavior that led hundreds of ex-national security officials to support the first impeachment inquiry to flagrant inaction on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump had an unwavering commitment to himself above all else. Stephanie Grisham And Gavin J. Smith, CNN, 17 Aug. 2022 The suspect, identified as Caren Satterfield, 47, entered the store and started displaying erratic behavior, Officer Annie Hernandez said. Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022 Behavior of students, and parents, erratic behavior of other drivers on the road and the allure of driving for Amazon -- where a driver is not working a split shift --are taking drivers away. Brenda Cain, cleveland, 13 Aug. 2022 If that help happens, Miller, who goes by they/them pronouns, could give an interview at some point explaining their erratic behavior over the past few years. Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Aug. 2022 Heche’s Friday crash wasn’t her first public incident of erratic behavior. Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 11 Aug. 2022 The actor's felony charge is the latest in a string of legal troubles and reports of erratic behavior. Landon Mion, Fox News, 9 Aug. 2022
Noun
Speidel was inspired to create these artworks from her fascination with glacial erratics, a type of rock that once was carried inside glacial ice and traveled hundreds of miles sometimes across thousands of years to its current resting spot. Nickole Kerner Bobley, Houston Chronicle, 25 Apr. 2020 One of the biggest boulders is now enshrined at the Erratic Rock State Natural Site in McMinnville, a small state park that aims to educate visitors about these odd erratics. Jamie Hale, OregonLive.com, 6 June 2017 Erratics are also found in the Columbia River Gorge. Jamie Hale, OregonLive.com, 6 June 2017 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Noun
Middle English, from Latin erraticus, from erratus, past participle of errare — see err