vagary

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Unconscionable impatience. What Matthew Arnold spoke about: our sick hurry, our divided aims. Now, this sick hurry is terrible. And Fred stands against that vagary beautifully.”

From New York Times • Dec. 15, 2020

It covers the whole wide world of early-19th-century trade, and it evinces a worldly acceptance of human disparity and vagary.

From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 2018

Normally, this would result in a total solar eclipse, but for a vagary of orbital mechanics: It happened when the Moon was near apogee, the point in its orbit when it’s farthest from Earth.

From Slate • Dec. 23, 2013

If Kiprotich's victory was surprising, it also represented the vagary and possibility of running 26.2 miles.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 13, 2012

As Sullivan saw it, “Burnham came out of his somnambulistic vagary and joined in. He was keen enough to understand that ‘Uncle Dick’”—meaning Hunt—“had done him a needed favor.”

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson