fluctuating


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fluc·tu·ate

 (flŭk′cho͞o-āt′)
intr.v. fluc·tu·at·ed, fluc·tu·at·ing, fluc·tu·ates
To vary irregularly, especially in amount: School enrollment has fluctuated from year to year.

[Latin flūctuāre, flūctuāt-, from flūctus, a flowing, from past participle of fluere, to flow; see bhleu- in Indo-European roots.]

fluc′tu·a′tion n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.fluctuating - having unpredictable ups and downs; "fluctuating prices"
unsteady - subject to change or variation; "her unsteady walk"; "his hand was unsteady as he poured the wine"; "an unsteady voice"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

fluctuating

[ˈflʌktjʊˌeɪtɪŋ] adjoscillante
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
Presently, as I went on, still gaining velocity, the palpitation of night and day merged into one continuous greyness; the sky took on a wonderful deepness of blue, a splendid luminous color like that of early twilight; the jerking sun became a streak of fire, a brilliant arch, in space; the moon a fainter fluctuating band; and I could see nothing of the stars, save now and then a brighter circle flickering in the blue.
Men like Schiaparelli watched the red planet--it is odd, by-the-bye, that for count- less centuries Mars has been the star of war--but failed to interpret the fluctuating appearances of the markings they mapped so well.
But the Judge had a most discouraging way of fluctuating. At last he was pronounced upon the mend -- and then convalescent.
But these measures are each too violent to be adopted without some deliberation; at present my thoughts are fluctuating between various schemes.
Such are the fluctuating fortunes of these savage nations.
Her face had latterly changed with changing states of mind, continually fluctuating between beauty and ordinariness, according as the thoughts were gay or grave.
Her family had of late been exceedingly fluctuating. For many years of her life she had had two sons; but the crime and annihilation of Edward a few weeks ago, had robbed her of one; the similar annihilation of Robert had left her for a fortnight without any; and now, by the resuscitation of Edward, she had one again.
The sober people of America are weary of the fluctuating policy which has directed the public councils.
He was clear-sighted enough to be aware that her uncle and aunt would have looked kindly on his suit, and indeed, without this encouragement he would never have persevered in going to the Farm; but it was impossible to come to any but fluctuating conclusions about Hetty's feelings.
Temple turned his attention from the pursuit of commerce, which was then fluctuating and uncertain, to the settlement of those tracts of land which he had purchased.
In this republican country, amid the fluctuating waves of our social life, somebody is always at the drowning-point.
In countries where modern civilisation has become fully developed, a new class of petty bourgeois has been formed, fluctuating between proletariat and bourgeoisie and ever renewing itself as a supplementary part of bourgeois society.