instability

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˌɪnstəˈbɪlɪti/ 🇺🇸 /ˌɪnstəˈbɪlɪtiː/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The state or condition of being unstable; lack of stability, firmness, or steadiness.; A tendency to change or fluctuate unpredictably, especially in economic or financial contexts.; The quality of being emotionally or psychologically unbalanced; mental or emotional unsteadiness.; In physics and engineering, a condition in which a system departs from equilibrium and does not return to it after a small disturbance.; In nuclear physics, the tendency of certain atomic nuclei to undergo radioactive decay.; In meteorology, a condition of the atmosphere in which air parcels tend to rise, leading to cloud formation and precipitation.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable

Collocations

political instabilityeconomic instabilityfinancial instabilityemotional instabilitycause instabilitylead to instabilitygrowing instability

Derivatives

stablestabilitystabilizestabilizationunstabledestabilizedestabilizationinstable

Synonyms

unsteadinessvolatilityprecariousnessuncertaintyfluxturbulence

Antonyms

stabilitysteadinessconstancyfirmness

Commonly confused

instable
EN: 'instable' is a rare adjective meaning not stable; 'instability' is the noun form denoting the state or quality of being unstable.
volatility
EN: 'volatility' emphasizes rapid, unpredictable change (especially in markets or emotions); 'instability' is broader, referring to any lack of steadiness or firmness.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the prefix is 'in-' (not 'im-' or 'un-') attached to 'stability': in-stability. The root 'stability' retains its full spelling.

💬 Examples

  1. The political instability in the region made foreign investment nearly impossible.

  2. Market instability caused stock prices to swing wildly throughout the week.

  3. His emotional instability made it difficult for him to maintain long-term relationships.

  4. The structural instability of the bridge was discovered during a routine inspection.

  5. The instability of the isotope made it useful for medical imaging but dangerous to handle.

  6. Atmospheric instability along the cold front produced severe thunderstorms.