volatile
adjective
, especially British -ˌtī(-ə)l\
Definition of volatile
(Entry 1 of 2)
volatile
noun
, especially British -ˌtī(-ə)l\
Definition of volatile (Entry 2 of 2)
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Other Words from volatile
Adjective
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noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for volatile
Synonyms: Adjective
capricious, changeable, changeful, fickle, flickery, fluctuating, fluid, inconsistent, inconstant, mercurial, mutable, skittish, temperamental, uncertain, unpredictable, unsettled, unstable, unsteady, variable
Antonyms: Adjective
certain, changeless, constant, immutable, invariable, predictable, settled, stable, stationary, steady, unchangeable, unchanging, unvarying
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Examples of volatile in a Sentence
Adjective
I am beginning to hear investors say that the best way to beat this volatile market is by trading—anxiously moving in and out of securities as the market ebbs and flows. In my view there is no surer path to the poorhouse. — John W. Rogers, Jr., Forbes, 25 May 2009 Usually, only a few of the volatile chemicals in a fragrance are obviously noticeable to human noses. — Ivan Amato, Science News, 24 Sept. 2005 VOCs (or volatile organic compounds) are thought to be among the potential culprits behind illnesses often lumped under the heading of Sick Building Syndrome. — Scott Schilling, This Old House, March 2005 … it was Elvis who represented rock and roll at its unblushing, volatile best; he was its first master and the embodiment of every reason that adolescents of the postwar years turned to it in favor of the cheerfully torpid pop music … to which their parents were listening. — David Hajdu, New York Review of Books, 9 Oct. 2003 When left unused, make-up has a tendency to dry out because any water or other volatile substances it contains evaporate. — Barry Fox, New Scientist, 9 Aug. 2003 The stock market can be very volatile. She is a volatile woman. The protests are increasing, creating a volatile situation in the capital.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
At the same time, Swell’s focus on sustainable-impact investments meant portfolios full of newer mid-sized companies, many of which were exceptionally volatile for small retail investors, the former employee said. — Emily Chasan, Los Angeles Times, "How Pacific Life lost its bet on socially minded millennials," 27 July 2019 But for as big as the game has gotten, its name rolling off the tongues of everyone from Netflix execs to embittered educators, its fledgling competitive scene has been as volatile, unpredictable and maddening as its signature storm. — Eric Adelson, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Fortnite’ is about to award its best players $30 million. What happens next is anyone’s guess," 26 July 2019 In the six counties of Ulster that were retained by the United Kingdom, the situation is more volatile. — Susan Mckay, The New Yorker, "The Incredible Life and Tragic Death of Lyra McKee," 26 July 2019 Appleton-Young said consumer confidence is fairly volatile. — Rose Meily, The Mercury News, "Economists present mid-year California market forecast," 19 July 2019 Before late 2018, the rate was highly volatile and could reach up to 10 dinars per dollar. — Nabih Bulos, latimes.com, "What’s for sale at this outdoor market? Cold, hard cash," 11 July 2019 Remember how cryptocurrencies are usually kind of volatile, and Libra is designed deliberately to be less so? — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, "Libra, explained," 26 June 2019 Brown coal is dirty and unstable, and the lives of those associated with it are liable to be equally volatile. — The Economist, "What caused Australia’s devastating bushfires?," 15 June 2019 Wilcox argued that the circumstances are nowhere near that volatile. — CBS News, "Nipsey Hussle documents will remain sealed, for now," 5 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The moon then coalesced from the disk—a scenario that can explain the moon’s large mass and dearth of water and other volatiles. — Simon J. Lock, Scientific American, "When Earth and the Moon Were One," 2 July 2019 Dryness: The lunar samples proved to be extremely dry and almost entirely depleted of volatiles—elements or molecules with low boiling points that easily evaporate, such as water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and hydrogen. — Erica Jawin, Scientific American, "Apollo’s Bounty: The Science of the Moon Rocks," 2 July 2019 Studies also show that moon rocks are stripped of nearly all volatiles (materials that boil away easily), providing evidence of some long-ago disaster that eliminated them. — Korey Haynes, Discover Magazine, "Legacy of Lunar Data: How Apollo Revealed our Moon," 20 May 2019 Theory predicts that such impacts would have generated immense amounts of heat, which in turn would have driven volatiles out of the rocks that evenutally formed the moon. — Mike Wall, Space.com, "First Atomic Blast Reveals Clues About Moon Formation," 8 Feb. 2017 A year later, The Following expansion made good on some of Dying Light’s promise, with a much more interesting conceit (sentient volatiles!) and more personality for protagonist Kyle Crane. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Dying Light 2 builds more heart and brains into one of the best zombie games ever," 15 June 2018 Tholins are a sort of aerosol thrown out when volatiles escape an atmosphere, but Pluto appears to not lose many of its volatile particles to space. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "Here's What We Know About Pluto So Far," 17 July 2015 The organic molecules and volatiles, comparable to samples of sedimentary rock rich in organics on Earth, included thiopene, methylthiophenes methanethiol and dimethylsulfide. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "NASA's Curiosity rover finds organic matter on Mars," 7 June 2018 My developed method utilizes fungus and volatiles to deter the growth of purple nutsedge without risk to non-target plants and to the benefit of the agricultural community. —