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.
We genuinely don’t know yet whether on balance AI will lead to more stability or volatility.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
“We have been taking actions to help mitigate this volatility in a challenging competitive environment,” Chief Executive Mike Smith said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Lamb Weston logged higher sales in its fiscal fourth quarter, as volume growth in North America helped offset continued cost inflation and geopolitical volatility, which weighed on international sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
We will follow our indicators and watch to see if the volatility indicators turn bearish.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 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.
