volatility

American  

[vahl-uh-til-i-tee] / vɑl əˈtɪl ɪ ti /

noun

1. the state or quality of being volatile.

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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."

Example Sentences

Volatility eased on Monday, but investors still have May’s consumer-price index on deck for Wednesday.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

Volatility is a key ingredient in pricing options, as it is used to gauge how likely a contract is exercised depending on the timing of the option’s expiration.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026

Perhaps more important, stock market volatility remained low during Powell’s term, as measured by the Cboe Options Exchange’s Cboe Volatility Index.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, has become a quick-and-dirty way to quantify caution.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

And on the other side, it is evident that Volatility belongs in common to all the three Principles, and to Water too.

From The Sceptical Chymist or Chymico-Physical Doubts & Paradoxes, Touching the Spagyrist's Principles Commonly call'd Hypostatical; As they are wont to be Propos'd and Defended by the Generality of Alchymists. Whereunto is præmis'd Part of another Discourse relating to the same Subject. by Boyle, Robert

Related Words

• buoyancy