1
as in infidelity
lack of faithfulness especially to one's husband or wife
a wife who was long inured to the chronic inconstancy of her husband
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fluctuation
the frequent and usually sudden passing from one condition to another
the inconstancy of public opinion is such that today's hero may be tomorrow's punching bag
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inconstancy
Scientific and engineering advances don't do well in the face of such wild swings and inconstancy.
—
Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2025
Europeans, awakened to the danger of American inconstancy, are scrambling to spend trillions more on defense in coming years.
—Adam Rasmi, Time, 20 June 2025
Years of naval inconstancy with repair work drove Vigor Industrial—a once vibrant and growing maritime conglomerate—into the welcoming arms of hedge funds, which wasted no time in striping the company of value.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
Here, Calabazas appears to be holding a toy windmill in one hand and, in the other, a miniature portrait of a woman, perhaps intended by Velázquez as a commentary on the inconstancy of love.
—Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2023
Due to his inconstancy and Angie’s growing attachment, their flimsy relationship operated on a timescale of eras coalescing into matters of historical record.
—Hannah Gold, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
But, in the hands of the Fleet Foxes, the pastoral feels less like a particular zone in time and more like a space in which to parse ideas of self-reliance, the inconstancy of love, the pain of intimacy, the fear of loss, the sting of betrayal, and the strange but urgent project of hope.
—Brandon Taylor, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2022
Over the past 20 years, the United States has undermined its own global leadership by inconstancy.
—Damon Linker, The Week, 9 June 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inconstancy
Noun
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The Woods brand was badly dinged by his November 2009 car crash and infidelity scandal, but sponsors returned for the comeback story, including his 2019 Masters title.—
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There has been rumored infidelity aimed at both parties in addition to other grievances.—
Noun
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Neila Roa, carrying her 5-month-old baby, sells packs of cigarettes to passersby, having to monitor daily fluctuations in currency to adjust the price.—
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Their role as a major political force has since become more symbolic, but the impact of fluctuations in currency on their business is what led them to spark the protests that have since turned deadly.—
Noun
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The book presents itself as a comic take on the classic adultery novel and a send-up of a narrow, self-conscious group of downwardly mobile New Yorkers.—
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The initial batch of documents showed that Angela Paxton sought the divorce on the grounds that Ken Paxton had committed adultery, but included no additional details.—
Noun
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Casimir said the plates would act as a kind of guillotine for the electromagnetic field, chopping off long-wavelength oscillations in a way that would skew the zero-point energy.—
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The oscillation of a standing wave is a seiche.—
Noun
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In June 2025, Peacock revealed the latest slate of celebrities set to battle it out in a high-stakes game of lies, alliances and betrayal inside a castle in the Scottish Highlands — all for a chance to win up to $250,000.—
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Rumors of treason, incompetence and betrayal swirled.—
Noun
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To quit, meanwhile, would be to open themselves to charges of disloyalty or weakness or both.—
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Even after Trump’s November 2024 win, Duncan still called himself a Republican, despite the Georgia Republican Party expelling him in January for disloyalty.—
Noun
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His plays gleefully plumb the wickedest aspects of the human psyche, delivering tales of relentless conquest, Jewish perfidy, deals with the devil, and gay love.—
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The ignorance, the hubris, the lies, the perfidy.—
Cite this Entry
“Inconstancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inconstancy. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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