vagary

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

If they mess up — or even if the issue is just a vagary of your own personal preferences — it’s only right to give them another chance.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2017

This common meaning for outrage actually grows out of a vagary of folk etymology.

From Slate ● Dec. 17, 2014

Mr. DeJohnette and the bassist Dave Holland didn’t miss a beat, but the abruptness of the shift underscored a feeling of haste and vagary in the first half.

From New York Times ● Jun. 26, 2010

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

Due to the vagaries of the international rugby league calendar, this was McDermott's first match in charge of England since being appointed in April as Shaun Wane's successor.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

If they are wiped away, Americans voting by mail will have to rely on the vagaries of the Postal Service to ensure their ballots arrive on time.

From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2026

The vagaries of the schedule are something that figures to hamper MLS teams all season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

That was a major thing that I wanted to do, because I think that it’s easy to traffic in vagaries, and then everybody can sort of escape the implication.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

Everybody was essentially himself—was riotously busy fulfilling the vagaries of human nature.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White