Meaning

10 senses
  1. Evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions.

    volatil, flüchtig, verdunstend

    лету́чийletúčij

    літки́йlitkýj

    evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures

  2. (informal)Of a substance, explosive.

    explosiv, brisant

  3. Of a price, variable or erratic.

  4. Of a person, quick to become angry or violent.

    a volatile man

    aufbrausend, labil, volatil

    вспыльчивыйvspylʹčivyj

  5. Fickle.

    schwankend, unbeständig, unstet

    изме́нчивыйizménčivyj, непостоя́нныйnepostojánnyj, изме́нчивыйizménčivyj

    мінли́вийminlývyj

  6. Temporary or ephemeral.

    flüchtig, unbeständig, vergänglich

    лету́чийletúčij

  7. Of a situation potentially violent.

    brisant

  8. Of a variable etc., having its associated memory immediately updated with any changes in value.

  9. Of memory, whose content is lost when the computer is powered down.

    volatil

    энергозависимыйenergozavisimyj

  10. (obsolete)Passing through the air on wings, or by the buoyant force of the atmosphere; flying; having the power to fly.

Examples

29 sentences
  1. The situation has become very volatile.

    ruСитуация стала очень нестабильной.

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  2. This is really volatile.

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  3. The situation sounds volatile.

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  4. It's a volatile situation.

    ruЭто неустойчивая ситуация.

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  5. This is a volatile gas.

    deDas ist ein flüchtiges Gas.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 2
evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions:
(of a price etc) variable or erratic:
Русский
By meaning 5
evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions:
quick to become angry:
(of a price etc) variable or erratic:
fickle:
(computing, of memory) whose content is lost when the computer is powered down:
Deutsch
By meaning 6
evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions:
(informal) explosive:
quick to become angry:
(of a price etc) variable or erratic:
fickle:
temporary or ephemeral:

Origin

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

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

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

more volatile, most volatile
Comparativemore volatile Lesson
Superlativemost volatile Lesson

regular

Synonyms

40 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • marked by erratic changeableness in affections or attachments:fickle
  • liable to lead to sudden change or violence:explosive

Antonyms

1 antonyms

Word family

15 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
volatile — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto