erratically

E1R1R1A1T1I1C3A1L1L1Y4
US/ɪˈɹæt.ɪk.li/

adverb

In an erratic manner; unsteadily or randomly, unpredictably.

“When I saw the other driver weaving erratically across the road, I decided to keep my distance.”

Meanings

adverberratically (comparative more erratically, superlative most erratically)

comparative more erratically · superlative most erratically

  1. In an erratic manner; unsteadily or randomly, unpredictably.

    When I saw the other driver weaving erratically across the road, I decided to keep my distance.

    2 more examples

    The four-and-one-half-day trial was centered on acts that neither she nor prosecutors dispute: On July 13, 2012, she drove her Lexus S.U.V. erratically after swallowing Zolpidem, a generic form of the sleep medication Ambien.

    2014 February 28, Joseph Berger, “Fast Acquittal for Kennedy, Whose Name Put Prosecutors in Bind”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2022

    Her friends had noticed that Sophia had been behaving erratically over the last few days. Sophia had disclosed that she had bipolar disorder just a few days before, so it was not new, but her friends were still worried.

    2026 August 13, Nicholas Muhoro, “Dutch Medical Student Sophia Koetsier Vanished in Uganda in 2015. An Unknown Man’s DNA Was Later Found on Her Clothing”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 14 Aug 2026

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbin an erratic unpredictable manner

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Classical Latinerrāticus
  2. Old Frencherratique
  3. Middle Frencherratique
  4. Classical Latinerrāticus
  5. Middle Englisherratik
  6. Englisherratic
  7. Englisherratically

From erratic + -ally.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

erratically. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erratically

MLA

“erratically.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erratically. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “erratically,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erratically.

Source: erratically on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.