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unstable
[ uhn-stey-buhl ]
adjective
- not stable; not firm or firmly fixed; unsteady.
- liable to fall or sway.
Synonyms: precarious
- unsteadfast; inconstant; wavering:
unstable convictions.
Synonyms: vacillating
- marked by emotional instability:
an unstable person.
- irregular in movement:
an unstable heartbeat.
- Chemistry. noting compounds that readily decompose or change into other compounds.
unstable
/ ʌnˈsteɪbəl /
adjective
- lacking stability, fixity, or firmness
- disposed to temperamental, emotional, or psychological variability
- (of a chemical compound) readily decomposing
- physics
- (of an elementary particle) having a very short lifetime
- spontaneously decomposing by nuclear decay; radioactive
an unstable nuclide
- electronics (of an electrical circuit, mechanical body, etc) having a tendency to self-oscillation
unstable
- Liable to undergo spontaneous decay into some other form. For example, the nucleus of uranium 238 atom is unstable and changes by radioactive decay into the nucleus of thorium 234, a lighter element. Many subatomic particles, such as muons and neutrons, are unstable and decay quickly into other particles.
- See more at decay
- Relating to a chemical compound that readily decomposes or changes into other compounds or into elements.
- Relating to an atom or chemical element that is likely to share electrons; reactive.
- Characterized by uncertain or inadequate response to treatment and the potential for unfavorable outcome, as the status of a medical condition or disease.
Derived Forms
- unˈstably, adverb
- unˈstableness, noun
Other Word Forms
- un·stable·ness noun
- un·stably adverb
Word History and Origins
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Like we cannot ignore the fact that our economy has been unstable for the majority of Americans for a very long time.
As carbon dioxide crowds the Earth’s atmosphere, the planet not only warms but also generates weather systems that increasingly behave in unstable and unprecedented ways.
Blanchet urged a "truce" among parties while Canada negotiated trade with the US, saying it was clear Canadians wanted political stability in unstable times.
A year after that, I would end up in inpatient trauma therapy while Nick apparently told people that I was a drug addict and mentally unstable.
The debt, which was not paid off until 1947, contributed to Haiti becoming one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the Americas.
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