volatile definition | Dictionary.com

vol⋅a⋅tile

[vol-uh-tl, -til or, especially Brit., -tahyl]

–adjective

1.	evaporating rapidly; passing off readily in the form of vapor: Acetone is a volatile solvent.

2.	tending or threatening to break out into open violence; explosive: a volatile political situation.

3.	changeable; mercurial; flighty: a volatile disposition.

4.	(of prices, values, etc.) tending to fluctuate sharply and regularly: volatile market conditions.

5.	fleeting; transient: volatile beauty.

6.	Computers. of or pertaining to storage that does not retain data when electrical power is turned off or fails.

7.	able to fly or flying.

–noun

8.	a volatile substance, as a gas or solvent.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME < L volātilis, equiv. to volāt(us) (ptp. of volāre to fly; see -ate ¹ ) + -ilis -ile

Related forms:

vol⋅a⋅til⋅i⋅ty [vol-uh-til-i-tee]

, vol⋅a⋅tile⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. eruptive, unstable, unsettled.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To volatile

vol·a·tile (vŏl'ə-tl, -tīl')

adj.

Chemistry
1. Evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures.
2. That can be readily vaporized.
3. Tending to vary often or widely, as in price: the ups and downs of volatile stocks.
4. Inconstant; fickle: a flirt's volatile affections.
5. Lighthearted; flighty: in a volatile mood.
6. Ephemeral; fleeting.
1. Tending to vary often or widely, as in price: the ups and downs of volatile stocks.
2. Inconstant; fickle: a flirt's volatile affections.
3. Lighthearted; flighty: in a volatile mood.
4. Ephemeral; fleeting.
Tending to violence; explosive: a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation.
Flying or capable of flying; volant.

[French, from Old French, from Latin volātilis, flying, from volātus, past participle of volāre, to fly.]
vol'a·tile n., vol'a·til'i·ty (-tĭl'ĭ-tē), vol'a·tile·ness (-tl-nĭs, -tīl'-) n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Volatile

Vol"a*tile\, a. [F. volatil, L. volatilis, fr. volare to fly, perhaps akin to velox swift, E. velocity. Cf. Volley.]

1. Passing through the air on wings, or by the buoyant force of the atmosphere; flying; having the power to fly. [Obs.]

2. Capable of wasting away, or of easily passing into the a["e]riform state; subject to evaporation.

Note: Substances which affect the smell with pungent or fragrant odors, as musk, hartshorn, and essential oils, are called volatile substances, because they waste away on exposure to the atmosphere. Alcohol and ether are called volatile liquids for a similar reason, and because they easily pass into the state of vapor on the application of heat. On the contrary, gold is a fixed substance, because it does not suffer waste, even when exposed to the heat of a furnace; and oils are called fixed when they do not evaporate on simple exposure to the atmosphere.

3. Fig.: Light-hearted; easily affected by circumstances; airy; lively; hence, changeable; fickle; as, a volatile temper.

You are as giddy and volatile as ever. --Swift.

Volatile alkali. (Old Chem.) See under Alkali.

Volatile liniment, a liniment composed of sweet oil and ammonia, so called from the readiness with which the latter evaporates.

Volatile oils. (Chem.) See Essential oils, under Essential.

Volatile

Vol"a*tile\, n. [Cf. F. volatile.] A winged animal; wild fowl; game. [Obs.] --Chaucer. --Sir T. Browne.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : volatile

Spanish: ave de corral,

German: das Geflügel,

Japanese: 家禽

More Translations »

volatile

1597 "fine or light," also "evaporating rapidly" (1605), from M.Fr. volatile, from L. volatilis "fleeting, transitory, flying," from pp. stem of volare "to fly," of unknown origin. Sense of "readily changing, fickle" is first recorded 1647. Volatiles in M.E. meant "birds, butterflies, and other winged creatures" (c.1300).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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volatile

Tending to be subject to large price fluctuations. Traders generally prefer volatile securities if they buy and sell on short-term price movements. See also beta.

Main Entry: ¹vol·a·tile
Pronunciation: 'väl-&t-^&l, esp Brit -&-"tIl
Function: noun
: a volatilesubstance

Main Entry: ²volatile
Function: adjective
: readily vaporizable at a relatively low temperature —vol·a·til·i·ty /"väl-&-'til-&t-E/ noun plural -ties

volatile vol·a·tile (vŏl'ə-tl, -tīl')
adj.

Evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures.
That can be readily vaporized.
Tending to violence; explosive, as of behavior.

volatile (vŏl'ə-tl) Pronunciation Key
Changing easily from liquid to vapor at normal temperatures and pressures. Essential oils used in perfumes are highly volatile.

volatile
1. volatile variable.
2. See non-volatile storage.
(1997-06-05)

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