liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse
example
The political situation was becoming more volatile.
synonyms
tensestrainedfraughtuneasyuncomfortable
word origin — Middle English (in the sense ‘creature that flies’, also, as a collective, ‘birds’): from Old French volatil or Latin volatilis, from volare ‘to fly’
Proficient — Set 88
Set 88 of Proficient covers 5 words: volatile, cerebral, peripatetic, viable, blatant. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.
volatile · adjective/ˈvälədl/
liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse
The political situation was becoming more volatile.
Origin: Middle English (in the sense ‘creature that flies’, also, as a collective, ‘birds’): from Old French volatil or Latin volatilis, from volare ‘to fly’
cerebral · adjective/ˈsɛrəbrəl/
relating to the brain or intelligence
The movie was very cerebral, making us think deeply about its themes.
Synonyms: intellectual, brainy, smart
Origin: from Latin 'cerebralis', derived from 'cerebrum' meaning 'brain'
peripatetic · adjective/ˌpɛrɪpəˈtɛtɪk/
traveling from place to place, especially on foot
The peripatetic traveler enjoyed exploring new cities on foot every summer.
Synonyms: itinerant, migrating, roaming
Origin: Greek 'peripatētikos' meaning 'given to walking about'
viable · adjective/ˈvaɪəbl/
capable of working successfully or feasible
The team developed a viable plan to improve sales next year.
Synonyms: feasible, practical, workable
Origin: from Latin 'vita', meaning 'life'
blatant · adjective/ˈbleɪ.tənt/
done openly and unashamedly
His blatant disrespect for the rules made everyone upset.
Synonyms: obvious, flagrant, brazen
Origin: from Latin 'blatantem', present participle of 'blatāre' which means to croak or to bleat