VOLATILE Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

volatile

adjective

ˈvä-lə-tᵊl

Definition of volatile

as in unpredictable

likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly a boss of volatile moods is frustrating to work for

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of volatile Moore brings consistency to a position that is inherently volatile. — Dane Brugler, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 After the 2008 financial crisis, hedge funds and investment banks were looking for safe places to park their money, not tied to other more volatile investments, like the stock market. — Vito Emanuel, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026 Regulators say the facility is expected to emit air pollutants including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, various metals and other compounds associated with human cremation. — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Aug. 2026 Gas price analysts from AAA and Gas Buddy both note that prices remain volatile and are not usually this high in late summer. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for volatile

Recent Examples of Synonyms for volatile

Adjective

Researchers from Tohoku University in Japan and VISTEC in Thailand say the approach could help robots move more effectively through unpredictable terrain.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
Prolific and versatile, Richard Linklater has been one of the most joyously unpredictable filmmakers for more than 35 years.

— Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of unpredictable

Adjective

Risk assessments should examine where a river bends, where slopes are unstable and where a single failure could cut off several communities.

— Victoria Milko, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
Significant political risk remains due to Venezuela's unstable government and historical tendency to renege on oil agreements.

— Michael Lynch, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of unstable

Adjective

The bottom line Interest earnings on $40,000 over the next year can be as low as $152 or as high as $1,720 or potentially even higher, depending on how variable rate accounts evolve over time.

— Matt Richardson, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
But maples are variable each year with more orange, yellow and red.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of variable

Adjective

The lawsuit says the decision was unlawful, unsupported by facts and inconsistent with the military’s past praise of Claude.

— Reuters, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2026
As a brief respite, the silly friend in your group chat, who keeps violently inconsistent hours, has shared something that will probably not break your heart, which seems as worthy an offering as any.

— Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of inconsistent

Adjective

Rigorous, blustery winter; winding sleety spring; hot, moist enervating summer; changeful autumn with its dog-days; these are absolutely unknown.

— San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Jan. 2023
Hers is the kind of face that inspires directors to tight framing — gleaming, as if smoothed from marble, and yet somehow pliant, changeful.

— Jordan Kisner Jack Davison, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2022

Definition of changeful

Adjective

The unsettled partisan lines around this issue have allowed anger, rooted in decades of deindustrialization and public austerity, to flourish in the electorate.

— Dan Kaufman, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2026
South Florida’s turbulent weather since the weekend that killed a mother and her daughter, spawned an Everglades wildfire, and mixed heat with storms looks to remain unsettled — including for Friday’s Miami Dolphins home game.

— Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of unsettled

Adjective

What remains uncertain is how damaging the resolution will be—and for whom.

— MICHAEL PETTIS, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
When markets are uncertain about how central bankers will respond to incoming data, speculation can fill the void, according to a Barclays report last month.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of uncertain

Browse Nearby Words

voids

volatile

volatileness

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“Volatile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/volatile. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of volatile

adjective

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