VOLATILITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does volatility mean? 

• VOLATILITY (noun)
  The noun VOLATILITY has 3 senses:

1. the property of changing readily from a solid or liquid to a vapor

2. the trait of being unpredictably irresolute

3. being easily excited

  Familiarity information: VOLATILITY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VOLATILITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The property of changing readily from a solid or liquid to a vapor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("volatility" is a kind of...):

chemical property (a property used to characterize materials in reactions that change their identity)

Derivation:

volatile (evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The trait of being unpredictably irresolute

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

unpredictability; volatility

Context example:

the volatility of the market drove many investors away

Hypernyms ("volatility" is a kind of...):

irresoluteness; irresolution (the trait of being irresolute; lacking firmness of purpose)

Derivation:

volatile (tending to vary often or widely)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Being easily excited

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

excitability; excitableness; volatility

Hypernyms ("volatility" is a kind of...):

emotionalism; emotionality (emotional nature or quality)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "volatility"):

boiling point (being highly angry or excited; ready to boil over)

Derivation:

volatile (liable to lead to sudden change or violence)

 Context examples 

Your ruler Mars will create volatility when directly opposed to Uranus.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Our importance, our respectability in the world must be affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain of all restraint which mark Lydia's character.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

They found that maize, or corn, was the most susceptible to crop failure, with climate variability causing 18 per cent of growth volatility globally between 1980 and 2010.

(El Niño linked to widespread crop failures, SciDev.Net)