Dictionary

instability en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɪnstəˈbɪlɪti/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌɪnstəˈbɪləti/ (Canada, General-American)
• [ˌɪnstəˈbɪləɾi] (Canada, General-American)
• audio Colorado
• (Texas) audio

Etymology

From Middle French instabilité, from Latin instabilitas. Morphologically in- + stability.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The quality of being unstable.
   • The template is [Richard] Nixon’s “madman theory” of diplomatic engagement – shorthand for prompting your adversaries to doubt your sanity and mental instability to the point where they are intimidated into otherwise unlikely concessions. 2026 April 8, Robert Tait, “Trump may be using Nixon’s ‘madman theory’ – and similar infamy may await”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 08 Apr 2026:
2. (countable) A state that is not in equilibrium, or in which a small change has a large irreversible effect.

Forms

Coordinates

uncertainty · insecurity · riskiness · risk

Deriveds

Turing instability · diocotron instability · immunodeficiency-centromeric instability-facial anomalies syndrome · sea of instability · Rayleigh-Taylor instability · microinstability · photoinstability

Relateds

disequilibrium · stability · instable

Synonyms

volatility · unstability · unstableness

Translations (54)

cmn 不穩定性 /不稳定性 (physical state) · ru неуравнове́шенность (quality of being unstable) · cmn 不穩定 /不稳定 (quality of being unstable) · bg нестабилност (quality of being unstable) · cmn 不穩固性 /不稳固性 (physical state) · it dissesto (quality of being unstable) · tr dengesizlik (quality of being unstable) · tg нопойдорӣ (quality of being unstable) · ru непостоя́нство (quality of being unstable) · nl instabiliteit (physical state) · es inestabilidad (quality of being unstable) · uk несті́йкість (quality of being unstable) · nn ustabilitet (quality of being unstable) · ru непро́чность (quality of being unstable) · de Instabilität (physical state) · ga éagobhsaíocht (quality of being unstable) · ru неусто́йчивость (physical state) · ka არასტაბილურობა (quality of being unstable) · cmn 不穩固 /不稳固 (physical state) · ms ketidakstabilan (physical state) · bg нестабилност (physical state) · nb ustabilitet (quality of being unstable) · it instabilità (quality of being unstable) · cmn 不穩定 /不稳定 (physical state) · fi epävakaus (quality of being unstable) · pt instabilidade (quality of being unstable) · la instabilitas (quality of being unstable) · ast inestabilidá (quality of being unstable) · ru зы́бкость (quality of being unstable) · hi असंतुलन (quality of being unstable) · uk нестабі́льність (quality of being unstable) · cmn 不穩定性 /不稳定性 (quality of being unstable) · es inestabilidad (physical state) · fa ناپایداری (quality of being unstable) · pl niestabilność (quality of being unstable) · ka არამდგრადობა (quality of being unstable) · fr instabilité (quality of being unstable) · grc ἀκαταστασία (physical state) · nl instabiliteit (quality of being unstable) · fi epätasapaino (physical state) · hu instabilitás (quality of being unstable) · tr dengesizlik (physical state) · cmn 不穩固性 /不稳固性 (quality of being unstable) · ms ketidakstabilan (quality of being unstable) · ru непро́чность (physical state) · grc ἀκαταστασία (quality of being unstable) · ru нестаби́льность (quality of being unstable) · az sabitsizlik (quality of being unstable) · cmn 不穩固 /不稳固 (quality of being unstable) · ru неусто́йчивость (quality of being unstable) · de Instabilität (quality of being unstable) · gl inestabilidade (quality of being unstable) · ca inestabilitat (quality of being unstable) · pl niestabilność (physical state)