Meaning & use
life is fickle
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
Used to say that life changes in ways you cannot predict or control.
Grammar: A complete clause used as a comment; it stands alone or follows a statement about bad luck.
Patterns
- life is fickle
- Life is fickle, isn't it?
He lost his job the same week he won the lottery — life is fickle.
She always says life is fickle, so enjoy the good days while they last.
Common combinations
- life is fickle
- Life is fickle, so don't take anything for granted.
- fate is fickle
- Fate is fickle and rarely gives you what you expect.
- fortune is fickle
- Fortune is fickle: today's hero is tomorrow's villain.
- a fickle world
- In a fickle world, loyal friends matter most.
Synonyms and how they differ
- life is unpredictable
- A plainer, more neutral way to say the same thing; use it in formal writing where 'fickle' feels too literary.
- such is life
- Said to accept a disappointment calmly, whereas 'life is fickle' comments on how changeable life is.
- that's the way the cookie crumbles
- Informal and humorous; it accepts bad luck rather than describing life's changeability.
Word family
- fickle adjective
- Changing often and without warning, especially in loyalty or affection.
- fickleness noun
- The quality of being changeable or unreliable.
- fickly adverb
- Rare; in a changeable or unreliable way.
Commonly confused: life is fickle or fickle? life is fickle or fickel?
life is fickle vs fickle
The adjective means 'changeable', as in 'fickle weather' or 'a fickle friend'; the phrase 'life is fickle' uses it to describe life's unpredictability.
life is fickle vs fickel
A common misspelling; the correct spelling is 'fickle' with no e before the l.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Life is fickle' is a fixed clause meaning life is unpredictable, so it fits a comment about preparing for change. Option 1 wrongly uses 'fickle' as a verb, option 2 invents a past tense 'fickled', and option 3 treats 'fickle' as a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “life is fickle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.