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volatile

Syllabification: (vol·a·tile)
Pronunciation: /ˈvälətl/

Translate volatile | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of volatile

adjective

  • 1(of a substance) easily evaporated at normal temperatures.
  • 2liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse:the political situation was becoming more volatile
  • (of a person) liable to display rapid changes of emotion.
  • (of a computer’s memory) retaining data only as long as there is a power supply connected.

noun

(usually volatiles)
  • a volatile substance.

Derivatives

volatility

Pronunciation: /ˌväləˈtilitē/

noun

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'creature that flies', also, as a collective, 'birds'): from Old French volatil or Latin volatilis, from volare 'to fly'

volatile in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of volatile in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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