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vicissitudinous

Vicissitudinous is an English adjective describing something that is characterized by vicissitudes—changes in fortune or circumstance, especially involving alternating or unpredictable phases. The term conveys a sense of variability over time and is more common in formal or literary writing than in everyday speech.

Etymology: The word is derived from vicissitude, which comes from Latin vicissitudo meaning change or succession,

Usage: In criticism and narrative, vicissitudinous describes plots, characters, or settings that repeatedly shift between favorable

Frequency and tone: Vicissitudinous is relatively uncommon in everyday speech and tends to appear in descriptive

See also: vicissitude, fluctuating, changeable. Related concepts include the broader idea of fluctuation and the notion

from
vicis
meaning
“change,
turn,”
with
the
English
suffix
-inous
forming
an
adjective.
and
adverse
conditions.
It
emphasizes
the
instability
of
a
situation
or
the
experience
of
a
life
marked
by
recurrent
fortunes.
For
example,
a
vicissitudinous
career
might
move
from
moments
of
triumph
to
periods
of
setback,
with
fortunes
waxing
and
waning
over
time.
or
scholarly
contexts.
It
can
signal
a
nuanced
or
elevated
tone
in
discussion
of
literature,
history,
or
psychology,
where
the
focus
is
on
changing
trajectories
rather
than
static
states.
of
fortune’s
variability
across
time.