| / English Dictionary |
UNSTABLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Subject to change; variable
Example:
everything was unstable following the coup
Synonyms:
fluid; unstable
Classified under:
Similar:
changeable; changeful (such that alteration is possible; having a marked tendency to change)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Affording no ease or reassurance
Example:
a precarious truce
Synonyms:
precarious; unstable
Classified under:
Similar:
uneasy (lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance)
Derivation:
unstableness (the quality or attribute of being unstable and irresolute)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Highly or violently reactive
Example:
sensitive and highly unstable compounds
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
reactive (participating readily in reactions)
Derivation:
unstableness (the quality or attribute of being unstable and irresolute)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Disposed to psychological variability
Example:
his rather unstable religious convictions
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
irresolute (uncertain how to act or proceed)
Derivation:
unstableness (the quality or attribute of being unstable and irresolute)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Suffering from severe mental illness
Example:
of unsound mind
Synonyms:
mentally ill; unsound; unstable
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
insane (afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement)
Derivation:
unstableness (the quality or attribute of being unstable and irresolute)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Lacking stability or fixity or firmness
Example:
an unstable world economy
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
volcanic (explosively unstable)
tottering ((of structures or institutions) having lost stability; failing or on the point of collapse)
top-heavy (unstable by being overloaded at the top)
tipsy (unstable and prone to tip as if intoxicated)
seismal; seismic (subject to or caused by an earthquake or earth vibration)
rocky (liable to rock)
rickety; shaky; wobbly; wonky (inclined to shake as from weakness or defect)
explosive; volatile (liable to lead to sudden change or violence)
crank; cranky; tender; tippy ((used of boats) inclined to heel over easily under sail)
coseismal; coseismic (being where earthquake waves arrive simultaneously)
Also:
impermanent; temporary (not permanent; not lasting)
inconstant (likely to change frequently often without apparent or cogent reason; variable)
unsteady (subject to change or variation)
Antonym:
stable (resistant to change of position or condition)
Derivation:
unstableness (the quality or attribute of being unstable and irresolute)
Context examples:
A substance that protects cells from the damage caused by free radicals (unstable molecules made by the process of oxidation during normal metabolism).
(Antioxidant, NCI Dictionary)
Unstable angina is the most dangerous. It does not follow a pattern and can happen without physical exertion.
(Angina, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
An oily, unstable, colorless, chlorinated hydrocarbon with a penetrating odor.
(Benzotrichloride, NCI Thesaurus)
A serious mental illness marked by unstable moods and impulsive behavior.
(Borderline personality disorder, NCI Dictionary)
It can include periods of reduced, unstable, or abnormal blood pressure with near syncope, or episodes of syncope.
(Hemodynamic Instability, NCI Thesaurus)
These genes help protect the cell from damage caused by free radicals (unstable molecules made during normal cell metabolism).
(NFE2L2, NCI Dictionary)
An unstable free-radical gas which reacts rapidly with oxygen to form nitrogen oxides.
(Nitric Oxide, NCI Thesaurus)
Symptoms include high fever, sweating, unstable blood pressure, confusion, and stiffness.
(Neuroleptic malignant syndrome, NCI Dictionary)
A yellow, viscous, oily nitrosamine that is highly unstable in the presence of light.
(N-Nitrosodi-n-butylamine, NCI Thesaurus)
The clinical presentation covers a spectrum of heart diseases from unstable angina to myocardial infarction.
(Acute Coronary Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
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