Meaning of unstable | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Not stable.
2. Having a strong tendency to change.
3. Fluctuating; not constant.
4. Fickle.
5. Unpredictable.
6. Readily decomposable.
7. Radioactive, especially with a short half-life.

Equivalents

Examples

“unstable foundation”

“The structure is too unstable to stand safely.”

“The hillside at this point is composed of shaly rock overlaid with a peaty loam which carries a growth of heather, and its unstable condition has resulted in two landslides in the course of the railway's history.”

“The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.[…]It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber. Other liquids produced in the refining process, too unstable or smoky for lamplight, were burned or dumped.”

“politically unstable”

“The political situation remains unstable.”

“chemically unstable”

CEFR level