noun ·5 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The quality of being unstable. uncountable
2. 2
   the quality or attribute of being unstable and irresolute wordnet
3. 3
   A state that is not in equilibrium, or in which a small change has a large irreversible effect. countable
4. 4
   unreliability attributable to being unstable wordnet
5. 5
   an unstable order wordnet

Show 1 more definition

6. 6
   a lack of balance or state of disequilibrium wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

volatilityambitendencyambivalencecaducitycapriciousnesschanciness

Antonyms

All antonyms

equilibriumsoliditystability

Example

More examples

"Gold prices are skyrocketing in the wake of financial instability."

Etymology

From Middle French instabilité, from Latin instabilitas. Morphologically in- + stability.

Related phrases

Rayleigh-Taylor instabilityTuring instabilitydiocotron instabilitysea of instability

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