instability
Americannoun
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the quality or state of being unstable; lack of stability or firmness.
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the tendency to behave in an unpredictable, changeable, or erratic manner.
emotional instability.
noun
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lack of stability or steadiness
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tendency to variable or unpredictable behaviour
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physics a fast growing disturbance or wave in a plasma
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of instability
1375–1425; late Middle English instabilite < Latin instabilitās. See in- 3, stability
Explanation
Instability is the quality of not being stable, balanced, or predictable. If you've ever walked out onto a diving board, you've probably noticed its instability — meaning the board bends and bounces as you move. Instability comes from the Middle French word instabilite, meaning "unsteadiness." Instability can refer to objects that are not stable, but it can also describe unpredictable situations or relationships. For example, you might hear people talk about economic instability. Or if your behavior at school grows erratic and unpredictable, you might be asked to speak to a therapist about your psychological instability.
Vocabulary lists containing instability
Southeast Asia - Middle School
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Southeast Asia - High School
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Second Democratic Debate 20 words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Four women and two men are in the running to succeed Antonio Guterres as leader of the United Nations, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
But taken together, there are a number of worrying strands here that - without a lasting, comprehensive deal between the US and Iran - could well indicate a prolonged period of instability for the region.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Experian has a few theories: “Credit-card issuers may review your credit reports for signs of financial instability, such as excessive balances on revolving accounts, late payments or frequent cash advances.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Shouldn’t a geopolitical crisis that unleashes global price pressures be positive for an asset often billed as a hedge against inflation and instability?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
How Barack and I comported ourselves in the face of instability mattered.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Its present size and depth, approximately 350 km wide, line up well with predictions for these slow-moving mantle instabilities.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2025
The researchers also demonstrated that they could use the ring-shaped beam to drill deeper into the material without causing instabilities in the process.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2024
If instead the researchers can improve the model's ability to recognize the precursors to these harmful instabilities, it could be possible to optimize the system without encountering a single edge burst.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024
However, the high-confinement mode has historically come hand-in-hand with instabilities at the plasma's edge, a challenge that has required fusion researchers to find creative workarounds.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024
Everyone is trying to stay ahead of perceived economic threats and instabilities by raising the risk premiums that they demand from their clients.
From After the Rain : how the West lost the East by Vaknin, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.