unstable

unstable

adjective

Definition of UNSTABLE

1

not being in or able to maintain a state of balance <the minute we put the books down on the unstable desk, the whole stack went crashing to the floor>

Synonyms unbalanced, unsteady

Related Words rocky, shaky, tippy, tipsy, wavery, wobbly (also wabbly), wonky [British]; infirm, insecure, precarious, unsound; doddering, doddery, jiggling, jiggly, rickety, staggery, teetering, tottering, tottery; askew, awry, cockeyed, lopsided, off-kilter, uneven

Near Antonyms even, level, straight; sound, sturdy, substantial

Antonyms balanced, equilibrated, stabilized, stable, steady

2

likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly <financial investors don't like an unstable economy>

Synonyms capricious, changeable, changeful, flickery, fluctuating, fluid, inconsistent, inconstant, mercurial, mutable, skittish, temperamental, uncertain, unpredictable, unsettled, unstable, unsteady, variable, volatile

Related Words aimless, arbitrary, desultory, erratic, haphazard, hit-or-miss, irregular, random, scattered, slapdash, stray; ambivalent, hesitating, shaky, shilly-shally, shilly-shallying, vacillating, wavering; dicey, undependable, unreliable, untrustworthy; adaptable, mobile, protean, versatile

Near Antonyms equable, even, uniform; abiding, durable, lasting, permanent, persistent; dependable, reliable, sure, tried, tried-and-true, true, trustworthy, trusty

Antonyms certain, changeless, constant, immutable, invariable, predictable, settled, stable, stationary, steady, unchangeable, unchanging, unvarying

3

not staying constant <unstable temperatures are not ideal storage conditions for wine>

Synonyms changing, erratic, fluctuating, irregular, unequal, unstable, unsteady, varying

Related Words capricious, changeable, changeful, choppy, fickle, fluid, inconsistent, inconstant, mercurial, mutable, uncertain, unsettled, variable, volatile

Near Antonyms regular

Antonyms changeless, constant, stable, steady, unchanging, unvarying