volatile
vola·tile (väl′ə təl; chiefly Brit, -tīl′)
adjective
- Obsolete flying or able to fly; volitant
- vaporizing or evaporating quickly, as alcohol
- likely to shift quickly and unpredictably; unstable; explosive a volatile social condition
- moving capriciously from one idea, interest, etc. to another; fickle
- not lasting long; fleeting
- Comput. designating or of memory that does not retain stored data when the power supply is disconnected
Etymology: MFr < L volatilis < volare, to fly
noun
- any flying creature
- a volatile substance
volatile
modif.
Having the qualities of a gas
light, airy, imponderable, subtle, buoyant, gaseous, gasiform, vaporous, vapory, vaporizable, evaporable, effervescent, expansive, resilient, elastic. Having a sprightly temperament
lively, light-hearted, vivacious, gay, animated, merry, flippant, teasing, playful, sprightly; see also active 1, 2, happy 1.Liable to sudden change
unstable, unpredictable, explosive; see changeable 1, 2.Fickle
frivolous, capricious, whimsical; see changeable 1, fickle 2.
Preposition: against
- currency: Sterling has been very volatile against the other currencies this week, in particular the Australian Dollar.
Adjective complement with noun phrase
- make: Sadly the modern game has higher stakes than the past which in turn has made the game more volatile.
Modifies a noun
- compound: The volatile compounds released are then analyzed in real time.
- anesthetics: However neonates require lower concentrations of volatile anesthetics than infants.
- solvent: The process involves the use of volatile solvents which are added to the oil stock to dissolve the wax.
- substance: Six per cent reported taking volatile substances in the last year in 2002, compared with 7 per cent in 2001.
- hydrocarbon: The inlet concentration is compared with the total allowable contamination for volatile hydrocarbons ( excluding methane ) set by ISBT at 20 ppmV.
- temperament: Jess is a young woman who disguises a dysfunctional middle class background behind an edgy, volatile temperament.
Modifying Another Word
- notoriously: Nor would joining the euro promote greater stability when it has been so notoriously volatile so far.
- potentially: That would be likely to add to the problem of potentially volatile capital inflows next time around.
- emotionally: Moon square Mars The square formed between the Moon and Mars shows that you have an emotionally volatile nature.
- highly: The United Nations sent its own peacekeepers to the highly volatile regions affected by the fighting.
- extremely: But the situation on the ground is extremely volatile.
- increasingly: With public opinion increasingly volatile, there's panic at the top.
Used with adjective complement
- remain: However, the situation on the ground remains volatile, concluded Travers.
- become: Oil prices have become far more volatile in recent years.
- get: When the underlying gets very volatile you are often best advised to buy or sell at the market.
Preposition: than
- market: Investments in small and emerging markets can be more volatile than other more developed markets.
- revenue: Empirical analyzes by the IMF 11 shows that aid flows tend to be more volatile than fiscal revenue or output, and highly unpredictable.
- other: All countries experience fluctuations in their rate of economic growth - some more volatile than others!
Browse dictionary entries near volatile
- volatile oil
- volatility
- volatilize
- volcanic
- volcanic glass
- volcanic rock
- volcanicity
- volcanism
- volcanize
- volcano
