vagary
noun/ˈveɪɡəri/
Frequency rank: #19,990 most common English word
Meaning
an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behavior.
Example sentence
The project failed because of some unexpected vagary in the client's demands.
Synonyms & related words
- whim
- caprice
- unpredictability
- quirk
Practice this word in the quiz
More words in ranks 19,901–20,000
- allotropeA distinct physical form in which an element can exist, differing in the arrangement of its atoms.
- homonymyThe state of two or more words having the same form but different, unrelated meanings.
- apoapsisThe point in an orbit where an orbiting body is at its greatest distance from the body it orbits.
- arbitrageurA person who practices arbitrage by exploiting price differences for the same asset in different markets.
- inculpatoryTending to show or establish guilt; incriminating.
- planetesimalA small solid celestial body that existed in the early solar system and could combine with others to form planets.
- buretA graduated glass tube with a stopcock at the bottom, used in laboratory titrations to dispense precise volumes of liquid.
- logograma written symbol that represents a word or morpheme as a whole, not individual sounds.
- corymba flower cluster in which the lower stalks are longer than the upper ones, resulting in a flat or convex top.
- perpendicularityThe state or quality of being at an exact right angle (90 degrees) to a given line or surface.