The war on Iraq is a volatile subject of political debate; any wrong word and a heated argument could spark.
Source: tatoeba (1936)
Volatile
//ˈvɑ.lə.təl//
Synonyms for "volatile" (218 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (44)
Strong matches (65)
erraticeruptiveetherealevanescentevaporableevaporativeexcitableexpansivefaddishfadingfast and loosefeatherbrainedfeatheryfiredampfitfulfleetingflickeringflightyflippantflirtatious
Show 40 more words
flittingfluctuatingfluffyfluidfly-by-nightflyingfoamyfragilefrailfreakishfrivolousfrothyfugaciousfugitivefumegiddygossameryhair-triggerhastyhotheadedimpermanentimpetuousimponderousimpulsiveinconsistentinconstantindecisiveinfirminsubstantialintenseirregularirresoluteirresponsiblelegerlightlight as airlight-mindedlighter than vanitylightheartedlively
Related words (109)
lubriciousmalariamazymercurialmiasmamomentarymoodymortalmoussemutablenervousnondurablenonpermanentpassingpassionateperishableprecipitateproteanquick-temperedquicksilver
Show 83 more words
ramblingreekresilientrestlessrovingsaucyscatterbrainedsensitiveshallowshallow-headedshallow-mindedshallow-patedshallow-wittedshapelessshiftingshiftyshort livedshort-livedshufflingskitteryskittishsmokesmudgesoufflespasmodicspinelessstartlishsteamsuperficialtemperamentaltemporaltemporarytenseticklishtouchytoyingtransienttransitivetransitoryunaccountableuncertainuncontrolledundependableundisciplinedundurableunenduringunfixedunheavyunpredictableunprofoundunreliableunrestrainedunsettledunstableunstable as waterunstaidunsteadfastunsteadyvacillatevacillatingvagrantvaporablevaporescentvaporizablevaporizingvariableversatilevicissitudinaryvicissitudinousvolatilisablevolatilizablewanderingwantonwater vaporwaveringwaverywavywaywardweightlesswhimsicalwishy washywishy-washyyeasty
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
1 entriesAntonyms
1 entriesSynonyms
2 entriesderived
7 entrieshas context
3 entriesis a
1 entriesrelated to
18 entriesShowing 16 of 18 words.
similar
13 entriesTranslations
148 translations across 37 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- vlugtig adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Bulgarian
4 entries- временен adj (temporary or ephemeral)
- краткотраен adj (temporary or ephemeral)
- летлив adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- непостоя́нен adj (fickle)
Catalan
1 entries- volàtil adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Chinese Mandarin
4 entries- 動蕩不定的 /动荡不定的 adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- 易怒的 adj ((of a situation) potentially violent)
- 易揮發的 /易挥发的 adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- 易變的 /易变的 adj (fickle)
Czech
4 entries- nestálý adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- nestálý adj (fickle)
- náladový adj (quick to become angry)
- prchavý adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Dutch
3 entries- licht ontvlambaar adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- tijdelijk adj (temporary or ephemeral)
- vluchtig adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Finnish
4 entries- epävakaa adj ((of a situation) potentially violent)
- haihtuva adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- haihtuva adj ((computing, of memory) whose content is lost when the computer is powered down)
- häilyväinen adj (fickle)
French
3 entries- volatil adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- volatil adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- volatil adj ((computing, of memory) whose content is lost when the computer is powered down)
Galician
1 entries- volátil adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Georgian
4 entries- არამდგრადი adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- არასტაბილური adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- ასაფეთქებელი adj ((informal) explosive)
- აქროლადი adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
German
4 entries- aufbrausend adj (quick to become angry)
- brisant adj ((of a situation) potentially violent)
- flüchtig adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- flüchtig adj (temporary or ephemeral)
Greek
4 entries- άστατος adj (fickle)
- εκρηκτικός adj ((informal) explosive)
- εκρηκτικός adj ((of a situation) potentially violent)
- επιπόλαιος adj (fickle)
Hebrew
1 entries- נדיף adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Hungarian
3 entries- illékony adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- illó adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- ingadozó adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
Indonesian
4 entries- asiri adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- darah tinggi adj (quick to become angry)
- kisruh adj ((of a situation) potentially violent)
- meruap adj ((computing, of memory) whose content is lost when the computer is powered down)
Irish
1 entries- luaineach adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Italian
4 entries- effimero adj (temporary or ephemeral)
- incostante adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- instabile adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- instabile adj ((of a situation) potentially violent)
Japanese
4 entries- 一触即発 adj ((of a situation) potentially violent)
- 揮発性 adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- 爆弾 adj ((informal) explosive)
- 発破 adj ((informal) explosive)
Korean
1 entries- 휘발성의 adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Macedonian
4 entries- и́спарлив adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- кратко́траен adj (temporary or ephemeral)
- непо́стојан adj (fickle)
- при́времен adj (temporary or ephemeral)
Malay
1 entries- meruap adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Manx
1 entries- so-ghaalagh adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Māori
3 entries- kirikawa adj (quick to become angry)
- pūkākā adj (quick to become angry)
- tākohukohu adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Norwegian
1 entries- flyktig adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Ossetian
1 entries- сысгӕ adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Polish
4 entries- lotny adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- napięty adj ((of a situation) potentially violent)
- niestabilny adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- nieuchwytny adj (temporary or ephemeral)
Portuguese
2 entries- instável adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- volátil adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Romanian
2 entries- efemer adj (temporary or ephemeral)
- volatil adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Russian
4 entries- вспыльчивый adj (quick to become angry)
- изме́нчивый adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
- изме́нчивый adj (fickle)
- лету́чий adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Slovak
1 entries- prchavý adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Spanish
1 entries- volátil adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Swedish
3 entries- eterisk adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- flyktig adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- volatil adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
Thai
1 entries- ลบเลือนได้ adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Turkish
1 entries- uçucu adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Ukrainian
2 entries- літки́й adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- мінли́вий adj ((of a price etc) variable or erratic)
Vietnamese
1 entries- dễ bay hơi adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Welsh
2 entries- anweddol adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
- hydarth adj (evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions)
Sample sentences
14 total sentences available.
Soviet and Western observers have warned that if the Muslim republics do not join the commonwealth, they may from a separate group, setting up a volatile ethnic and religious split.
Source: tatoeba (66479)
For things that have had contents with volatile oil like thinners they should be left for a few days to completely evaporate it before being disposed of as non-flammable waste.
Source: tatoeba (327051)
Reputations are volatile. Loyalties are fickle. Management teams are increasingly disconnected from their staff.
Source: tatoeba (1944744)
Showing 4 of 14 available sentences.
Keep exploring
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.