- 1
If something is erratic, it will not stay on one path or keep one rhythm. There is no plan you can count on.
If something is erratic如果某件事是 erratic, it will not stay on one path or keep one rhythm它就不會一直走同一條路，也不會保持同一個節奏。There is no plan you can count on沒有什麼規律是你可以依靠的。
A person’s mood can be erratic: warm one minute, sharp the next. A bus that comes at eight, then twenty to nine, then five past eight the next day is erratic. Doctors talk about an erratic heartbeat; weather people talk about erratic rain.
A person's mood can be erratic一個人的情緒可以是 erratic：warm one minute, sharp the next這一分鐘還很溫暖，下一分鐘就變得尖銳。A bus that comes at eight, then twenty to nine, then five past eight the next day一班公車今天八點來，接著八點四十來，隔天又變成八點五分來, is erratic就是 erratic。Doctors talk about an erratic heartbeat醫生會講 erratic heartbeat心跳不規律; weather people talk about erratic rain氣象人員會講 erratic rain降雨不規律。
It is a fairly grown-up word. In easy talk people often say “all over the place” or “up and down” instead. You can use it of people, machines, prices, or nature — anything whose next move you cannot trust. It does not mean “wrong” (that is ) and it does not mean “naughty” (that is closer to ).
It is a fairly grown-up word這是個相當成熟、書面一點的字。In easy talk people often say “all over the place” or “up and down” instead在比較口語的說法裡，大家常常改說「all over the place東一個西一個」或「up and down忽上忽下」。You can use it of people, machines, prices, or nature你可以用在人、機器、價格或大自然身上, anything whose next move you cannot trust任何你沒辦法信任它下一步會怎樣的東西。It does not mean “wrong”它不是「wrong錯的」的意思 (that is erroneous)（那是 erroneous）, and it does not mean “naughty”也不是「naughty調皮」的意思 (that is closer to errant)（那比較接近 errant）。
Though actually, scientists also use erratic as a noun for a big rock a glacier carried far from home and then dropped. Same “wandered off” idea, but most will meet the adjective first.
Though actually不過其實, scientists also use erratic as a noun科學家也會把 erratic當名詞用, for a big rock a glacier carried far from home and then dropped指冰河把一塊大石頭帶離原本的地方、遠遠地丟在別處。Same “wandered off” idea一樣是「四處遊蕩」的概念, but most learners will meet the adjective first不過大部分學習者會先遇到形容詞這個用法。
組成From Latin erraticus, built on errare, “to wander”.
同家族的字
- errorsame Latin errare
- errantsame “off the path” root
- erraticallythe adverb: in an erratic way
原始詞典資料4 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
erraticadj/ɪˈɹætɪk/
- 1
Unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent.
- Henry has been getting erratic scores on his tests: 40% last week, but 98% this week.
- The V-2's directional system was notoriously erratic. In May 1947, a V-2 launched from White Sands Proving Ground headed south instead of north, missing downtown Juarez, Mexico, by 3 miles.
- 2
Deviating from normal opinions or actions; eccentric; odd.
- erratic conduct
- Investigators were careful not to rule out Bryce’s erratic behaviour in his final days, including the giveaways, the sudden breakup, and the hours spent parked by the side of the freeway. These factors pointed to a mental health crisis severe enough that he wanted to disappear.
erraticnoun/ɪˈɹætɪk/
- 1
geographygeologynatural-sciencesA rock moved from one location to another, usually by a glacier.
- The term for a displaced boulder is an erratic, but in the nineteenth century the expression seemed to apply more often to the theories than to the rocks.
- During the last ice-age, massive stones were carried for miles by the scouring glaciers, only to be left, like passengers at the end of the line, when the glaciers retreated. Stranded in their new surroundings with rocks with which they share no common geology, their out-of-place-ness is evoked by their name: “erratics”.
- 2
Anything that has erratic characteristics.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。