释义
[ uhn-stey -buh l ] SHOW IPA
/ ʌnˈsteɪ bəl / PHONETIC RESPELLING
SEE SYNONYMS FOR unstable ON THESAURUS.COM
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.
Chemistry . noting compounds that readily decompose or change into other compounds.
Origin of unstable Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at un-1 , stable2
SYNONYMS FOR unstable 2 precarious.
3 vacillating.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR unstable ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for unstable 2, 3 . See unsettled.
OTHER WORDS FROM unstable un·sta·ble·ness, noun un·sta·bly, adverb Words nearby unstable unspoiled, unspoken, unsporting, unsportsmanlike, unspotted, unstable , unstable angina, unstainable, unstained, unstalked, unstarry
Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for unstable Only Colbert can work through a “Your internet connection is unstable ” warning popping up during a Zoom interview.
One Good Thing: Stephen Colbert is looser, funnier, and angrier in quarantine | Emily VanDerWerff| September 4, 2020| Vox
There’s a long history of rural areas relying on one unstable source of income and on the desirability of natural resources.
The Recreation Economy Isn't As Resilient As We Thought | Heather Hansman| August 29, 2020| Outside Online
After that, spring would bring unstable ice, rising waters, and unsuitable conditions to trap fish owls.
The quest to snare—and save—the world’s largest owl | Jonathan Slaght| August 28, 2020| Popular Science
If the universe turns out to be fundamentally unstable , a tiny bubble of the cosmos could convert to a more stable state.
‘The End of Everything’ explores the ways the universe could perish | Emily Conover| August 4, 2020| Science News
If the voltage goes too high or too low, the water itself becomes unstable .
Batteries should not burst into flames | Carolyn Wilke| April 16, 2020| Science News For Students
You lethargic, unfocused, unstable , lazy, hazy, crazy time of year.
Our Doomed Love Affair with Summer | P. J. O’Rourke| August 30, 2014| DAILY BEAST
The initial result was negative, but much of the area was still on fire and too unstable to search.
My Building Exploded. I Survived: Harlem Miracle Man Tells His Story | Michael Daly| March 13, 2014| DAILY BEAST
Erica is the foil to the unstable , decaying Beth—a kind, virtuous, smooth-skinned girl next door.
Anna Kendrick: Queen Bee of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival | Marlow Stern| January 23, 2014| DAILY BEAST
The value may be unstable , but it has trended mainly up and to the right, with crashes followed by climbs past the previous high.
Should Baby Boomers Invest in Bitcoin? | Sarah Kunst| January 9, 2014| DAILY BEAST
We know that Dana is unstable , just based on her having tried to kill herself.
‘Homeland’ Star Morgan Saylor: TV’s Most Hated Character Talks Back | Andrew Romano| October 7, 2013| DAILY BEAST
How helplessly one wades in the shifting, unstable footing—tumbling over with a touch, like a house built of cards!
The Rectory Children | Mrs Molesworth
It will become stable or unstable exactly as trade or profession becomes stable or unstable .
The Business of Being a Woman | Ida M. Tarbell
No longer interlaced with the unstable theological, they neither abide nor perish with it.
Pioneers of Evolution from Thales to Huxley | Edward Clodd
Walking giddily along the unstable , sliding earth, she allowed him to guide her to the old stone seat on the south terrace.
Shadows of Flames | Amelie Rives
Then block by unstable block he seemed to rebuild a new world about him, a new world which was both narrow and empty.
The Shadow | Arthur Stringer
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British Dictionary definitions for unstable adjective lacking stability, fixity, or firmness
disposed to temperamental, emotional, or psychological variability
(of a chemical compound) readily decomposing
physics (of an elementary particle) having a very short lifetime spontaneously decomposing by nuclear decay; radioactive an unstable nuclide electronics (of an electrical circuit, mechanical body, etc) having a tendency to self-oscillation
Derived forms of unstable unstableness , noun unstably , adverb Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Words related to unstable tricky, ambiguous, uncertain, irrational, sensitive, unsettled, insecure, shaky, weak, precarious, rocky, unpredictable, fickle, volatile, wobbly, ticklish, slippery, changeable, unsteady, erratic
Scientific definitions for unstable 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.