volatile
evaporating rapidly; passing off readily in the form of vapor: Acetone is a volatile solvent.
tending or threatening to break out into open violence; explosive: a volatile political situation.
changeable; mercurial; flighty: a volatile disposition.
(of prices, values, etc.) tending to fluctuate sharply and regularly: volatile market conditions.
fleeting; transient: volatile beauty.
Computers. of or relating to storage that does not retain data when electrical power is turned off or fails.
able to fly or flying.
a volatile substance, as a gas or solvent.
Origin of volatile
1Other words for volatile
Other words from volatile
- vol·a·til·i·ty [vol-uh-til-i-tee], /ˌvɒl əˈtɪl ɪ ti/, vol·a·tile·ness, noun
- non·vol·a·til·i·ty, noun
- sem·i·vol·a·tile, adjective
- un·vol·a·tile, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use volatile in a sentence
Volatility of reputation and subjectivity of quality make it difficult to define the novel in terms of absolute excellence.
Second, growing your own power is an insurance policy against volatility.
To be fair, there are nonpartisan, academic roots to the vision of the Cold War as a model of stability, not volatility.
I loved the volatility to his reaction and the deception, and then her walking away with the security guards to the elevator.
Julianna Margulies's Favorite 'The Good Wife' Scenes | Julianna Margulies | August 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe fears, especially, the volatility of it all: the checkpoints, the nearby Israeli settlements, and the bombings.
A Camp Away From Terror: Where Israeli and Palestinian Kids Find Common Ground | Nina Strochlic | August 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Owing to its extreme volatility it can only be taken dissolved in spirit.
Her natural volatility and satirical humour are now transformed to chastened vivacity and the sportive sallies of innocent wit.
The Sheepfold and the Common, Vol. II (of 2) | Timothy EastThere was more stuff in Barbara, with all her seeming volatility, than in a wilderness of lady Anns.
There and Back | George MacDonaldDe Garros, with the volatility of a true Frenchman, waved his hand to show that he was not injured.
The Ocean Wireless Boys and the Lost Liner | Wilbur LawtonI have been many a time surprised to observe the strange volatility of sailormen.
Humphrey Bold | Herbert Strang
British Dictionary definitions for volatile
/ (ˈvɒləˌtaɪl) /
(of a substance) capable of readily changing from a solid or liquid form to a vapour; having a high vapour pressure and a low boiling point
(of persons) disposed to caprice or inconstancy; fickle; mercurial
(of circumstances) liable to sudden, unpredictable, or explosive change
lasting only a short time: volatile business interests
computing (of a memory) not retaining stored information when the power supply is cut off
obsolete flying or capable of flight; volant
a volatile substance
rare a winged creature
Origin of volatile
1Derived forms of volatile
- volatileness or volatility (ˌvɒləˈtɪlɪtɪ), 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
Scientific definitions for volatile
[ vŏl′ə-tl ]
Changing easily from liquid to vapor at normal temperatures and pressures. Essential oils used in perfumes are highly volatile.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse