lack of stability or steadiness tendency to variable or unpredictable behaviour
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
in•sta•bil•i•ty /ˌɪnstəˈbɪlɪti/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- the quality or state of being unstable;
lack of stability:Political instability led to a revolution. - the tendency to behave in an unpredictable manner:emotional instability.
in•sta•bil•i•ty
(in′stə bil′i tē),USA pronunciation n.
- the quality or state of being unstable;
lack of stability or firmness. - the tendency to behave in an unpredictable, changeable, or erratic manner:emotional instability.
- Latin instabilitās. See in-3, stability
- late Middle English instabilite 1375–1425
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'instability' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Alzheimer's disease
- Libya
- Queer Street
- astasia
- borderline personality
- crisis
- cyclothymia
- delirium tremens
- dysautonomia
- fickle
- fluctuation
- flux
- freak
- hot spot
- incertitude
- insecurity
- instability line
- levity
- lubricity
- maladjustment
- neuroticism
- poise
- quake
- schizophrenia
- stable
- stem
- surge
- turbulence
- unbalance
- unstable