instability

[in-stuh-bil-i-tee]

noun

1. the quality or state of being unstable; lack of stability or firmness.

2. the tendency to behave in an unpredictable, changeable, or erratic manner.

   emotional instability.

instability

/ ˌɪnstəˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. lack of stability or steadiness

2. tendency to variable or unpredictable behaviour

3. physics a fast growing disturbance or wave in a plasma

Word History and Origins

Origin of instability¹

1375–1425; late Middle English instabilite < Latin instabilitās. See in- ³, stability

Example Sentences

Security has improved significantly in the country, but instability persists in the east near the Sudanese borders.

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Yet Damascus’s fostering instability by excluding and massacring communities will undermine that opportunity by inviting renewed foreign interference.

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“This will bring enough instability to the area for a slight chance of thunderstorm development,” the National Weather Service in Oxnard said.

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“This will bring enough instability to the area for a slight chance of thunderstorm development,” the weather service in Oxnard said.

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“They could therefore be affected by the instability caused by any escalation.”

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Related Words

• anxiety 
• fluctuation 
• insecurity 
• uncertainty 
• volatility 
• vulnerability 
• weakness