volatility
Americannoun
Explanation
Volatility is the trait of being excitable and unpredictable. Your volatility might ultimately be the thing that makes you unsuitable as a preschool teacher. The noun volatility is the characteristic of changing often and unpredictably. Your sister's volatility might be shown in how quickly she switches from laughing to crying. If you talk about the volatility of the stock market, stock prices are most likely fluctuating wildly. In chemistry, volatility means the speed with which a substance changes from solid to liquid, liquid to vapor, and so on. The root is the Latin volatilis, "fleeting, transitory, flying."
Vocabulary lists containing volatility
This Week in Words: October 21- 27, 2018
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This Week in Words: October 13 – 20, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That is the term structures of the VIX futures and of the Cboe volatility indexes are sloping strongly upwards.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
For one strategist at least, this will lead to an era of greater volatility that means investors should get more defensive with their portfolios.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The risk if it doesn’t is that the rumor mill may take over, creating uncertainty and volatility, which is “the last thing you want,” Elson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The latest bounce has been helped by some bargain-buying and government measures to stabilise retail investor volatility, as well as strong earnings reports from market heavyweights including Amazon, Microsoft and more recently CoreWeave.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
He was feared and admired for his fistfighting skills, drop-of-a-hat volatility, thundering bass voice, and daring.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
