as in unsteadiness
the quality or state of not being firmly fixed in position
the instability of the bridge became tragically apparent when it suddenly collapsed
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Recent Examples of instability
Living outside exposes people to extreme weather, violence, illness and instability.
—
Chicago Tribune, 19 Apr. 2026
The uncertain future of funding is part of a larger picture of instability being caused by federal policy changes.
—Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
Ironically, recent instability in Iran and the greater Middle East should have sharpened the urgency of this issue, not pushed it to the margins.
—Dan Romito, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2026
However, LPAs have struggled with instability.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 19 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for instability
Chicago Tribune, 19 Apr. 2026
The uncertain future of funding is part of a larger picture of instability being caused by federal policy changes.
—Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
Ironically, recent instability in Iran and the greater Middle East should have sharpened the urgency of this issue, not pushed it to the margins.
—Dan Romito, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2026
However, LPAs have struggled with instability.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 19 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for instability
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instability
Noun
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Those dates were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later canceled following Dion's 2022 diagnosis of stiff-person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that includes rigidity and stiffness of certain areas of the body, causing unsteadiness, slower movements and difficulties walking.—
Shafiq Najib,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Can’t slam anyone for that, and the unsteadiness was real and the moment was more poignant because of it.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The precariousness of Hollywood has always been at the heart of The Comeback.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Mar. 2026
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Shifting comments from the Republican president and his top aides are adding to the precariousness of the 12-day-old conflict, which is impacting nearly every corner of the Middle East and causing economic tremors around the globe.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Of course, Butcher does a lot of blatant manipulating here, using Ryan’s insecurity about his deadly powers to convince him the world is better without supes altogether.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
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Where need is greatest, help is least available Geographically, the steepest increases in energy insecurity were found in warm-weather regions.—
Diana Hernández,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Instability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instability. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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