fluctuating

F4L1U1C3T1U1A1T1I1N1G2

adjective

Subject to irregular changes in quantity or quality.

Similar
Less commonScrabble 17

Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of fluctuate
adjectivefluctuating (comparative more fluctuating, superlative most fluctuating)

comparative more fluctuating · superlative most fluctuating

  1. Subject to irregular changes in quantity or quality.

    ...they sat down beside the hearth in the adjoining room, over which the embers of the wood-fire cast a fluctuating light; now the long shadows falling duskily around—now dispersing them with bursts of brilliant flame, as the lighter wood kindled into a short-lived blaze.

    1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter X, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 105
    1 more example

    From these remarks it will be seen that I look at the term species, as one arbitrarily given for the sake of convenience to a set of individuals closely resembling each other, and that it does not essentially differ from the term variety, which is given to less distinct and more fluctuating forms.

    1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species
nounfluctuating (plural fluctuatings)

plural fluctuatings

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivehaving unpredictable ups and downs

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

fluctuating. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fluctuating

MLA

“fluctuating.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fluctuating. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fluctuating,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fluctuating.

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