I. ˈväləd. ə l, sometimes -ə(ˌ)til, chiefly Brit -əˌtīl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English volatil, from Old French, backformation from volatille, volatilie group of birds, from Medieval Latin volatilia, from neuter plural of Latin volatilis winged, volatile
1. : a winged animal : bird , wildfowl
2. : a volatile substance
coffee volatiles
II. adjective
Etymology: French, from Latin volatilis, from volatus (past participle of volare to fly) + -ilis -ile; probably akin to Sanskrit garuḍa, a mythical bird, garut wing of a bird
1. : passing through the air on wings : having the power to fly : flying ; also : moving about as if by flight
2. : easily passing off by evaporation : readily vaporizable at a relatively low temperature
volatile matter
volatile solvents
3.
a. : airy , lighthearted , lively
people think that I am volatile because I dance and go to the movies — Ellen Glasgow
had a volatile mind and was furiously interested in Indians and geography — Bernard De Voto
b. : easily aroused or moved : easily affected by circumstances
these things annoyed and irritated, even drove her volatile temper to a distraction — Ellis St. Joseph
if, as mortals, they are violent and volatile , it is because their emotions are near the surface — John Mason Brown
the developments which even my volatile suspicions hadn't allowed me to foresee — Ralph Ellison
c. : tending to burst forth or erupt into violent action : explosive
faced with a highly volatile social situation … with the problem of reconciliation in this city of forty-eight different ethnic groups — Jean Burden
world government … could halt rigidly and abruptly whatever danger of war might proceed out of the highly volatile competition for military supremacy between the two — Norman Cousins
4.
a. : characterized by quick or unexpected changes : not steady or predictable : changeable , fickle
as giddy and volatile as ever — Jonathan Swift
the most volatile of men, and what is true today may be quite false before the winter snows … have melted — Bruce Bliven b. 1889
in the midst of an area whose politics are explosively volatile — E.A.Kehr
this volatile element of reader preference — Printers' Ink
b. : subject to or characterized by wide price fluctuations
volatile markets
volatile common stocks
5. : difficult to capture or hold permanently : evanescent , transitory
so volatile an essence that he escaped definition — Elinor Wylie
what we actually traffic in are living ideas; the books are only containers for a more volatile commodity — Publishers' Weekly
Synonyms: see elastic