Dictionary

destabilize en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /diːˈsteɪbɪlaɪz/ (UK)
• /dɪˈstæbɪlaɪz/ (Philippines)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē-der. English de- English stable Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English stabilize English destabilize From de- + stabilize.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make something unstable.
   • Fragments of laminin chains can act as biologically active peptides to perturb the blood–testis barrier (BTB) permeability function by accelerating protein endocytosis (e.g., occludin) at the site, thereby destabilizing the BTB integrity to facilitate the transit of preleptotene spermatocytes. 2015 August 26, “A Catalog of Proteins Expressed in the AG Secreted Fluid during the Mature Phase of the Chinese Mitten Crabs ( Eriocheir sinensis )”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:
   • When the price of Luna plummeted in May, TerraUSD fell in tandem — a “death spiral” that destabilized the broader market and plunged some investors into financial ruin. 2022 June 14, David Yaffe-Bellany, Erin Griffith, “‘The Music Has Stopped’: Crypto Firms Quake as Prices Fall”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • As part of its application, Macy's submitted "balloon control plans" describing how handlers, under the direction of a "pilot," were to navigate through intersections, where crosswinds can destabilize the balloons. 2005 November 27, Sewell Chan, “Site of Balloon Accident Is Known for Its Crosswinds”, in The New York Times:
   • When the buoyancy destabilizes the flow, it alters the electroconvective patterns by introducing upward and downward fingers of respectively light and heavy fluid. 2016, Elif Karatay, Matthias Wessling, Ali Mani, “On the coupling between buoyancy forces and electroconvective instability near ion-selective surfaces”, in arXiv:
2. (intransitive) To become unstable.

Forms

Deriveds

thermodestabilize · destabilizer · destabilization

Translations (26)

cmn 動搖 /动摇 (to make something unstable) · it destabilizzare (to make something unstable) · ru дестабилизи́ровать (to make something unstable) · ru дестабилизи́роваться (to become unstable) · pl destabilizować się (to become unstable) · pl zdestabilizować się (to become unstable) · fi horjuttaa (to make something unstable) · fi tehdä epävakaaksi (to make something unstable) · fi epävakautua (to become unstable) · be дэстабілізава́ць (to make something unstable) · uk дестабілізува́ти (to make something unstable) · fr se déstabiliser (to become unstable) · de destabilisieren (to make something unstable) · de sich destabilisieren (to become unstable) · fi horjua (to become unstable) · pl destabilizować (to make something unstable) · es desestabilizar (to make something unstable) · hu destabilizál (to make something unstable) · ca desestabilitzar (to make something unstable) · fi tulla epävakaaksi (to become unstable) · fr déstabiliser (to make something unstable) · pl zdestabilizować (to make something unstable) · nl destabiliseren (to make something unstable) · fi epävakauttaa (to make something unstable) · sv destabilisera (to make something unstable) · hy ապակայունացնել (to make something unstable)