fluctuating 1 of 2

adjective

ˈflək-chə-ˌwā-tiŋ How to pronounce fluctuating (audio)
Definition of fluctuatingnext
1
as in volatile
likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly a fluctuating stock market makes it hard for investors to know what to do

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in changing
not staying constant our speed was constantly fluctuating, so the figure of 50 miles per hour is just an average

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fluctuating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of fluctuate
as in varying
to pass from one form, state, or level to another temperatures will fluctuate between the low and high 50s today

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fluctuating
Adjective
Don’t Leave Pumpkins to Extreme Elements Pumpkins prefer consistency, so fluctuating temperatures—such as freezing nights followed by warm, sunny days—can weaken them. — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Oct. 2025 Many rival fans have had a good laugh at Tottenham and their wildly fluctuating results this season. — Nick Miller, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024 The same amount of water per unit time can arrive as a smooth, steady rain of many small drops or as a strongly fluctuating shower with fewer but much larger drops. — Douglas Natelson, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024 Irwin said that the characters’ runaway emotions are mirrored by the wildly fluctuating time signatures. — Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun, 25 Jan. 2024
Verb
Such flexibility is compatible with the fluctuating nature of entrepreneurship. — Bernardo Saraiva, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Gray noise, per The New York Times, may sound like wind blowing or steady rainfall and works for apartment dwellers sensitive to sharp or fluctuating noises. — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026 Their model links the ytterbium moments with the directionally fluctuating manganese spins. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026 An active Pacific region Hurricane Polo has been a powerful storm, at times fluctuating between Category 4 and Category 5. — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 Farmers are struggling under the pressure of higher energy costs, tariffs and fluctuating crop prices. — Jarrell Dillard, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2026 However, expectations have been volatile and highly dependent on data as well as fluctuating energy prices, making the stakes for Friday’s release even higher. — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026 Their failure to receive one may be attributed to their having vague symptoms, such as a general feeling of malaise, weakness, or fluctuating muscle pain. — Jerome Groopman, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026 Studying the effects of this fluctuating luminescence on interpreting gesture may tell us whether speech has significant benefits around an evening campfire. — Mike McRae 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fluctuating
  1. volatile
  2. changing
  3. varying
  4. unpredictable
  5. uneven
  6. shifting
  7. changeful
  8. unstable
Adjective
  • Together, the tools could help accelerate the development of more resilient electric motor systems while reducing the risks associated with critical material shortages, volatile supply chains and rapidly changing global markets.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Daily crude flows are very volatile, with only 3 million barrels of crude transiting Hormuz on Monday while 6 million barrels passed through the strait on Friday, according to Kpler.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of volatile
Adjective
  • This might be the moment to plot a California trip with more changing leaves and less traffic.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The difference is not the map, but how changing conditions are interpreted along the way.
    — Alex Shahidi, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of changing
Verb
  • Several international airlines have suspended flights for varying periods.
    — SAMY MAGDY, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Munguía aired a message for her brother, at varying times in the schedule, for several weeks.
    — Jordan Salama, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of varying
Adjective
  • Jeff Shields, a spokesperson for PJM, said electricity demand is growing faster than new generating capacity can come online, while unpredictable weather is leaving fewer opportunities for critical maintenance and construction.
    — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Loos, who was thirty-one, was known to express displeasure in hot and angry bursts and could be unpredictable.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of unpredictable
Adjective
  • Rising case rates in women under 50, new federal rules on breast density notification and the uneven rollout of 3D mammography are reshaping when and how women get screened.
    — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Grass, uneven ground, tiny puddles, and random objects can become major obstacles when the machine is barely taller than them.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of uneven
Verb
  • Jarvis sacrifices himself to stabilize Vision’s mind, deleting his code and shifting his processing power to the other AIs to keep them functional.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
  • This new study reveals that experimental niobium-titanium alloys can defy this rule at a freezing -253°C (20 kelvin) by spontaneously shifting their atomic structure to form mirror-image twins and generate fresh defects.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of shifting
Adjective
  • Rigorous, blustery winter; winding sleety spring; hot, moist enervating summer; changeful autumn with its dog-days; these are absolutely unknown.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Jan. 2023
  • Hers is the kind of face that inspires directors to tight framing — gleaming, as if smoothed from marble, and yet somehow pliant, changeful.
    — Jordan Kisner Jack Davison, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2022
Definition of changeful
Adjective
  • Since Oppenheim and Fielder can’t record her there, their contact is mediated through her seemingly unstable and controlling husband, Billy Evans.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Lycopene can help protect blood vessels from the damaging effects of unstable molecules known as free radicals.
    — MD Published, Verywell Health, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of unstable

Browse Nearby Words

fluctuates
fluctuating
fluctuation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fluctuating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fluctuating. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fervid

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All