vagary

But the senators say a vagary in the way the law is written means they can seek another term, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 26, 2023

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

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

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

Finding a solution that works for all smells may prove difficult, though, in part because of all the vagaries in how we uptake and interpret scent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

A once proud, close-knit community has been left to the vagaries of absentee landlords, rising deprivation and residents who often don't want to be here.

From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026

Even granted the vagaries of spelling in the seventeenth century, why should Newton choose to emphasize this word?

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin