— volatility /vol'euh til"i tee/ , volatileness , n.
/vol"euh tl, -til/ or, esp. Brit., /-tuyl'/ , adj.
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.
n.
8. a volatile substance, as a gas or solvent.
[ 1250-1300; ME volatilis, equiv. to volat ( us ) (ptp. of volare to fly; see -ATE 1 ) + -ilis -ILE ]
Syn. 2. eruptive, unstable, unsettled.