metastable

[ met-uh-stey-buh l, met-uh-stey- ]

/ ˈmɛt əˌsteɪ bəl, ˌmɛt əˈsteɪ- /

adjective

Metallurgy. chemically unstable in the absence of certain conditions that would induce stability, but not liable to spontaneous transformation.

Also labile. Physics, Chemistry. pertaining to a body or system existing at an energy level (metastable state) above that of a more stable state and requiring the addition of a small amount of energy to induce a transition to the more stable state.

Words nearby metastable

metarubricyte, metascope, metasequoia, metasoma, metasomatism, metastable, metastasio, metastasis, metastasize, metastatic abscess, metastatic calcification

Origin of metastable

First recorded in 1895–1900; meta- + stable²

OTHER WORDS FROM metastable

met·a·sta·bil·i·ty

[met-uh-stuh-bil-i-tee] /ˌmɛt ə stəˈbɪl ɪ ti/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for metastable

Presence of silicon tends to prevent, presence of manganese tends to assist, the production of the metastable systems.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications|Alexander Findlay
It's a metastable state at best, all too likely to collapse into tyranny.
The Sensitive Man|Poul William Anderson
At any point outside this area, monoclinic sulphur can exist only in a metastable condition.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications|Alexander Findlay
The realization of the metastable melting point of the hexahydrate is, therefore, due to suspended transformation.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications|Alexander Findlay

A considerable number of such cases have, indeed, been found, and in some cases there is more than one metastable hydrate.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications|Alexander Findlay

British Dictionary definitions for metastable

metastable

/ (ˌmɛtəˈsteɪbəl) physics /

adjective

(of a body or system) having a state of apparent equilibrium although capable of changing to a more stable state

(of an atom, molecule, ion, or atomic nucleus) existing in an excited state with a relatively long lifetime

noun

a metastable atom, ion, molecule, or nucleus

Derived forms of metastable

metastability, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012