What does "disequilibrium" mean?

The loss of equilibrium or stability, especially due to an imbalance of forces.

Disequilibrium

Q: What is a synonym for "disequilibrium"?

Common synonyms include: asymmetry, contrariety, difference, disparity, disproportion, imbalance.

noun

noun ·6 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The loss of equilibrium or stability, especially due to an imbalance of forces.
"The world of the angelic hierarchy was an evolutionary stream of light in a steady-state, but the creation of Adam from matter disturbs that primordial steady-state; it generates the creative disequilibrium necessary for change, transformation, and evolution."
2
loss of equilibrium attributable to an unstable situation in which some forces outweigh others wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

asymmetry contrariety difference disparity disproportion imbalance

Antonyms

All antonyms

equilibrium

Example

More examples

"The world of the angelic hierarchy was an evolutionary stream of light in a steady-state, but the creation of Adam from matter disturbs that primordial steady-state; it generates the creative disequilibrium necessary for change, transformation, and evolution."

Etymology

From dis- + equilibrium.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.