Link Centre Dictionary

volatile

vo·la·tile

UK/ˈvɒl.əˌtaɪl/ US/ˈvɒl.əˌtʰaɪ̯l/ uncommon informal obsolete
adjective (4) noun (1)

adjective

1.

evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures

  • “volatile oils”
  • “volatile solvents”
Antonyms
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2.

liable to lead to sudden change or violence

  • “an explosive issue”
  • “a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation”
Synonyms
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3.

marked by erratic changeableness in affections or attachments

  • “fickle friends”
  • “a flirt”
Synonyms
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4.

tending to vary often or widely

  • “volatile stocks”
  • “volatile emotions”
Similar

noun

1.

a volatile substance; a substance that changes readily from solid or liquid to a vapor

  • “it was heated to evaporate the volatiles”

Origin

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

Phrases

  • caustic volatile alkali
  • sal volatile
  • volatile memory
  • volatile organic compound

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.