English Explanatory Dictionary

volatile

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj

Evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions.
Of a substance, explosive.
Of a price, variable or erratic.
Of a person, quick to become angry or violent.
Fickle.
Temporary or ephemeral.
Of a situation potentially violent.
Of a variable etc., having its associated memory immediately updated with any changes in value.
Of memory, whose content is lost when the computer is powered down.
Passing through the air on wings, or by the buoyant force of the atmosphere; flying; having the power to fly.

noun

A chemical or compound that changes into a gas easily.
A variable that is volatile, i.e. has its associated memory immediately updated with any change in value.

Pronunciation

/ˈvɒl.əˌtaɪl/ [ˈvɒl.əˌtʰaɪ̯l] En-uk-volatile.wav /ˈvɑ.lə.təl/ [ˈvɑl.ə.tʰl̩]

Word forms

volatile more volatile most volatile volatiles

Etymology

From Middle French volatile, from Latin volātilis (“flying; swift; temporary; volatile”), from volō (“to fly”).

Synonyms

furious rabid raging ferocious fierce grim incessive infuriate savage volatile wild changeable erratic unpredictable fleeting passing transitory earthly ephemeral brief deciduous evanescent flying fugacious fugitive instant momentary perishable quick seasonable short short-lived temporary transient transitive whilend worldly

Derived words

caustic volatile alkali nonvolatile sal volatile unvolatile volatilely volatile memory volatile organic compound volatility

Translations

Chinese Mandarin: 動蕩不定的 /动荡不定的 Czech: nestálý Finnish: vaihteleva Finnish: volatiili French: volatil Georgian: ცვალებადი Georgian: არამდგრადი Georgian: არასტაბილური German: schwankend German: unbeständig German: unstet Greek: ευμετάβλητος Greek: ρευστός Hungarian: ingadozó Indonesian: naik turun Indonesian: mudah berubah Italian: instabile Italian: incostante Italian: variabile Polish: niestabilny Polish: zmienny Portuguese: instável Russian: изме́нчивый Swedish: volatil Ukrainian: мінли́вий

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