as in unstable
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Recent Examples of labile
The mob is aroused and labile; the lumpy cops have no control, over the situation or over themselves.
—
James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Oct. 2024
Then the therapist could spend several minutes establishing a safe rapport with the patient while waiting for the memory to enter a labile state during the reconsolidation-updating window.
—Bj Casey, Scientific American, 14 May 2024
There was something kinetic, something labile in his air.
—Kevin Barry, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Amid this high level of acting skill, Lindsey stood out with her wonderfully convincing gestures and facial expressions, filling out the character of the more labile younger sister with captivating verisimilitude.
—Jeremy Yudkin, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2023
In its particulars, that work prefigured much that was to come: public, politically labile, made with sparse means and leaving no object behind.
—New York Times, 4 Dec. 2021
Jesse’s behavior is labile, an adjective that sounds precise but turns out to be little more than a clinical term for emotions that are all over the place.
—Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2021
James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Oct. 2024
Then the therapist could spend several minutes establishing a safe rapport with the patient while waiting for the memory to enter a labile state during the reconsolidation-updating window.
—Bj Casey, Scientific American, 14 May 2024
There was something kinetic, something labile in his air.
—Kevin Barry, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Amid this high level of acting skill, Lindsey stood out with her wonderfully convincing gestures and facial expressions, filling out the character of the more labile younger sister with captivating verisimilitude.
—Jeremy Yudkin, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2023
In its particulars, that work prefigured much that was to come: public, politically labile, made with sparse means and leaving no object behind.
—New York Times, 4 Dec. 2021
Jesse’s behavior is labile, an adjective that sounds precise but turns out to be little more than a clinical term for emotions that are all over the place.
—Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for labile
Adjective
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This discovery suggests a much more active early Earth, but this tectonic activity was still unstable, with crust sinking down not in a continuous motion, but in pulses, stopping for millions of years and then resuming activity.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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In some cases, unstable shelter and food.—
Alan J. Borsuk,
jsonline.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Also, new technology has made eyeglasses more accurate and versatile, offering options that cater to a wide range of distinct vision needs.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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Beyond Broadway, Krakowski has built a career as one of entertainment’s most versatile performers.—
Dave Quinn,
People.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The self is a shifting, inconstant phenomenon, brain and body ever transforming in time and space, with no clear delineation between what is self and what is other.—
Lauren Groff,
The Atlantic,
20 Aug. 2025
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If the United States is an unreliable partner and a source of chaos these countries will turn elsewhere, building new security and trade alliances that don’t depend on the inconstant, waning superpower.—
Lydia Polgreen,
Mercury News,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Labile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/labile. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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