volatile

adjective

1. evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures

- volatile oils

- volatile solvents

Similar word(s): inconstant, evaporable, vaporific, vaporizable, vapourific, vapourisable, volatilisable, volatilizable

2. liable to lead to sudden change or violence

- a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation

Similar word(s): unstable, explosive

3. marked by erratic changeableness in affections or attachments

- a flirt's volatile affections

Similar word(s): inconstant, fickle

4. tending to vary often or widely

- volatile stocks

- volatile emotions

Similar word(s): changeable, changeful

noun

1. a volatile substance; a substance that changes readily from solid or liquid to a vapor

- it was heated to evaporate the volatiles

Definition categories: substance