释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024vol•a•tile /ˈvɑlətəl, -ˌtaɪl/USA pronunciation adj. - Chemistryevaporating rapidly; passing off quickly in the form of vapor:Acetone is a volatile solvent.
- tending or threatening to break out into open violence;
explosive:a volatile political situation. - having or likely to have or exhibit sharp or sudden changes;
unstable:a volatile stock market. - changeable, as in mood or temper:a volatile personality.
vol•a•til•i•ty /ˌvɑləˈtɪlɪti/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024vol•a•tile (vol′ə tl, -til or, esp. Brit., -tīl′),USA pronunciation adj. - Chemistryevaporating rapidly; passing off readily in the form of vapor:Acetone is a volatile solvent.
- tending or threatening to break out into open violence;
explosive:a volatile political situation. - changeable;
mercurial; flighty:a volatile disposition. - Business(of prices, values, etc.) tending to fluctuate sharply and regularly:volatile market conditions.
- fleeting;
transient:volatile beauty. - Computingof or pertaining to storage that does not retain data when electrical power is turned off or fails.
- able to fly or flying.
n. - Chemistrya volatile substance, as a gas or solvent.
- Latin volātilis, equivalent. to volāt(us) (past participle of volāre to fly; see -ate1) + -ilis -ile
- Middle English 1250–1300
vol•a•til•i•ty (vol′ə til′i tē),USA pronunciation vol′a•tile•ness, n. - 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged eruptive, unstable, unsettled.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: volatile /ˈvɒləˌtaɪl/ adj - (of a substance) capable of readily changing from a solid or liquid form to a vapour; having a high vapour pressure and a low boiling point
- (of persons) disposed to caprice or inconstancy; fickle; mercurial
- (of circumstances) liable to sudden, unpredictable, or explosive change
- lasting only a short time: volatile business interests
- (of a memory) not retaining stored information when the power supply is cut off
n - a volatile substance
Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin volātīlis flying, from volāre to flyˈvolatileness, volatility /ˌvɒləˈtɪlɪtɪ/ n |