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unstable

[uhn-stey-buhl]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

not stable; not firm or firmly fixed; unsteady.

liable to fall or sway.

unsteadfast; inconstant; wavering: unstable convictions.

marked by emotional instability: an unstable person.

irregular in movement: an unstable heartbeat.

EXPAND

Chemistry. noting compounds that readily decompose or change into other compounds.

COLLAPSE

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English; see un-¹, stable²

Related forms

un·sta·ble·ness, noun

un·sta·bly, adverb

Synonyms
2. precarious. 2, 3. See unsettled. 3. vacillating.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To unstable

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Unstable is always a great word to know.

So is alcohol. Does it mean:

a colorless, pungent, suffocating, highly water-soluble, gaseous compound, NH3, usually produced by the combination of nitrogen and hydrogen gases

any of a class of chemical compounds having the general formula ROH, where R represents an alkyl group and ?OH a hydroxyl group

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Example Sentences

There is serious vulnerability when it comes to keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable and others.

The two approaches, visual studies and art history, create a kind of unstable oil-and-water mixture in academic writing.

Sweet wines are alcoholic, fattening and unstable when transported.

EXPAND

There is serious vulnerability when it comes to keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable and others.

The two approaches, visual studies and art history, create a kind of unstable oil-and-water mixture in academic writing.

Sweet wines are alcoholic, fattening and unstable when transported.

The same thing happens when a person starts to travel across an area of unstable snow-their weight can trigger a slide.

The observation of an unexpected nuclear reaction by an unstable isotope of the element mercury has thrown up a rare puzzle.

These different forms of an element-called isotopes-are inherently stable or unstable.

Retirees trundle around the country lanes, dragging their dangerously unstable.

Every boom contains the seeds of its own bust, and agricultural production is inherently unstable.

Normally this might present a problem if there were an unstable internet connection in the picture.

But some of the materials and catalysts have turned out to be unstable and inefficient in the laboratory.

The quake's shock waves roiled the unstable soil into slush, a process called liquefaction.

Such abnormal hemoglobins often do not transport oxygen efficiently and may also be unstable.

Maintenance budgets were inadequate even to keep stable roads in good condition, and thousands of miles were unstable.

But leftover unexploded ordnance can be a war's legacy, particularly when small and unstable.

Cigarette manufacturers also argue that tobacco taxes make for an unstable revenue source because of declining sales.

Pressured, sometimes unstable people plus guns are a dangerous mix.

But the markets are unstable and, bankers believe, increasingly tapped out.

Because they are made of ice, glacier caves can be quite unstable and present unique challenges to spelunkers.

The idea is to prevent unstable oxygen molecules, which are normal by-products of metabolism, from damaging cells.

They're overpopulated, their forests are gone and they're politically unstable.

At takeoff, the rocket is unstable and creates a pinwheel in the sky.

Now is the winter of our dislocated kneeAnd our broken arm and our separated shoulder and our unstable fracture of the fibula.

Digital files are unstable and subject to corruption.

All this is difficult in countries with unstable politics and weak health systems, which is precisely where polio persists.

Kicks over millions of years can move an asteroid's orbit into an unstable area.

Judgment always imprisons because it separates segments of reality by the unstable scales of desire.

Worried by the playwright's increasingly unstable state, he also advised a total hiatus from work.

The protons hit a fixed target and produce unstable particles that decay, releasing a neutrino.

Mistreating a sprained ankle could lead to lasting weakness, an unstable joint and repeated sprains.

For a country used to the smack of firm government, this unstable construction is a risky venture.

The tiny reactors are not easily obtainable, and the chemicals used in them can be highly unstable.

Without effective rehabilitation techniques, many people become more mentally unstable behind bars.

Unfortunately due to political and unstable security conditions research cannot be conducted at such places.

The original architecture proved unstable for handling so large a structure.

They shouldn't be held responsible for the darkness that always waits to swallow up the unstable and the lost.

Not so long ago, the rich world used to regard emerging economies as risky and unstable.

Cycles of hot and freezing weather are leading to unstable snow fields and a rising number of violent avalanches.

We need to reduce our dependence on the unstable mid-east not rearrange the deck chairs.

It isn't uncommon for relationships between dinosaurs to be unstable or uncertain, though.

At the tiny scale envisioned for new devices, flash memory becomes unstable.

Both tests indicated that this foam slurry design was unstable.

Oil and mining firms carry extra risk for investors because they often operate in politically unstable or inhospitable places.

All that cracked, unstable crust seethes with stress.

In addition the planets ability to reliably produce food is becoming unstable.

Nuclear plants are unstable thus prone to accidents and produce long lived nuclear waste.

Once again, officials are blaming those occasionally unstable lithium-ion batteries.

The metrics of followers and retweets beget a kind of always-on day trading in the unstable currency of the self.

Modern finance is flawed, unstable and prone to excess.

Animals cannot take shelter in the unstable sand of a dune and must search for fresh water.

These unstable particles are then magnetically focused into a long tunnel where they decay while in flight.

It's made using extremely toxic, caustic hydrazine and is highly unstable.

Unstable angina is potentially serious and chest pain is persistent, but blood tests do not show markers for heart attack.

But think of those boots and those wasted lives: planned markets are flawed, unstable and excessive too.

Watch for cracks and holes, and know that the terrain is unstable and slippery when wet.

When fusing the two patches, they do not appear to be patchy or unstable.

No matter how many exo-Earths are found, they may all be too unstable for life.

Should the voices of dissatisfaction continue to grow, the coming years could be unstable ones for all.

Polio poses a particular challenge to countries with unstable politics and weak health systems.

We are the only species that follows an unstable leader.

They further posited that the genes spliced into the plants were unstable and scattered around the genome in unpredictable ways.

Superstiff frame makes the bike somewhat unstable on bumpy trails.

He was listed in critical and unstable condition today.

Governments do not want to rely on faraway, unstable or downright hostile countries for oil and gas.

Also, many exotic particles are unstable and exist for such a short time.

And one thing's for certain sure: the weather is going to become increasingly unstable.

The hull shape, however, has led to concerns that it will leave the ship unstable in rougher waters.

Oxidation is a chemical process in the body caused by the release of unstable particles known as oxygen-free radicals.

The government said the site was unstable and last month sent in police with guns and workmen with sledgehammers.

Landslide-generated tsunamis occur when unstable land collapses into the water following an earthquake.

The concern here is for a woman unfairly injured by someone who appears to be quite unstable.

Despite the unstable and ever-changing environment around him, he never loses sight of his ultimate goal.

Construction was abandoned when the foundations were found to be unstable.

Alpha decay is a type of radioactivity that occurs when an unstable atom emits a helium nucleus.

Giant winter waves exploded against the basalt cliffs as sea level rose and fell, gouging steep, unstable slopes.

In either case, over time, carbon chains from the fatty acid backbone become unstable and break off.

Sherman, an adolescent sociopath before the shooting, is even more unstable when he recovers.

The more species, therefore, the less volatile and unstable the ecosystem.

Burrowed haphazardly beneath the surface city, these quarries became increasingly unstable over time.

Calcium chloride is unstable in the presence of water.

It has long been clear that the federal debt limit is far too dangerous and unstable for lawmakers to use as a political weapon.

Both countries are deaf to outside complaints and seem chronically unstable.

Most communities are coastal, and some residents have already been forced to relocate buildings as the soil becomes unstable.

Giraffes can float, but they would be clumsy and unstable in the water.

She is married to a mentally unstable man, and doesn't find enough in his companionship to meet her needs.

If all the oil can slosh around in the bottom, it can make the tanker unstable and it will easily capsize in rough seas.

They are being formed behind unstable glacial moraines.

Central bars form when stellar orbits in a spiral galaxy become unstable and deviate from a circular path.

That, some fear, could make the political system more unstable.

The often unstable magnetism can then release such prominences as solar eruptions.

Completely deterministic dynamics could be chaotic, exponentially sensitive and unstable with respect to its current status.

Such levers do not work as quickly as those that were forged from deals with unpopular and unstable dictators.

Humans are the only species that follow unstable pack leaders.

Water-based reactors are inherently unstable and dangerous.

Others indicate that any new arrangement is likely to prove unstable if deficit countries fail to improve their fiscal position.

You'll soon create a fight, flight, or avoidance instinct in your dog and he won't follow a leader with unstable energy.

Use your head to solve the econmically unstable uses of oil and gas by burning.

The electrons form an unstable bubble of charge that oscillates in a cavity designed for the purpose.

Remember that inconsistent leadership will lead to an unpredictable and unstable dog.

Unstable biodiversity in the microbial level can have serious consequences on the macro world.

It suffers unfairly from an outside perception that it is a risky and unstable place.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

unstable (ʌnˈsteɪb^əl)

—*adj*
1.	lacking stability, fixity, or firmness
2.	disposed to temperamental, emotional, or psychological variability
3.	(of a chemical compound) readily decomposing
4.	physics
	a. (of an elementary particle) having a very short lifetime
	b. spontaneously decomposing by nuclear decay; radioactive: an unstable nuclide
5.	electronics (of an electrical circuit, mechanical body, etc) having a tendency to self-oscillation

un'stableness

—n

un'stably

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

unstable

early 13c., "apt to move," from un- (1) "not" + stable (adj.). Cf. M.H.G. unstabel. Meaning "liable to fall" is recorded from c.1300; sense of "fickle" is attested from late 13c.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

unstable

(ŭn-stā'bəl) Pronunciation Key

Liable to undergo spontaneous decay into some other form. For example, the nucleus of uranium 238 atom is unstable and changes by radioactive decay into the nucleus of thorium 234, a lighter element. Many subatomic particles, such as muons and neutrons, are unstable and decay quickly into other particles. See more at decay.
Relating to a chemical compound that readily decomposes or changes into other compounds or into elements.
Relating to an atom or chemical element that is likely to share electrons; reactive.
Characterized by uncertain or inadequate response to treatment and the potential for unfavorable outcome, as the status of a Medical condition or disease.

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Matching Quote

"The ocean, whose tides respond, like women's menses, to the pull of the moon, the ocean which corresponds to the amniotic fluid in which human life begins, the ocean on whose surface vessels (personified as female) can ride but in whose depth sailors meet their death and monsters conceal themselves ... it is unstable and threatening as the earth is not; it spawns new life daily, yet swallows up lives; it is changeable like the moon, unregulated, yet indestructible and eternal."

-Adrienne Rich

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