volatility
volatility Lexical Profile
volatility Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The quality or state of being likely to change suddenly and unpredictably, especially for the worse.
"Political volatility in the region has discouraged foreign investment over the past decade."
In finance, the degree of variation of a trading price series over time, often measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns.
"Investors sought safer government bonds to protect their portfolios from stock market volatility."
In chemistry and physics, the tendency of a substance to vaporize or evaporate rapidly at normal temperatures.
"Because of the high volatility of acetone, the container must be kept tightly sealed when not in use."
• Rhymes for volatility
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the French 'volatilité' or directly from the Latin 'volatilis' ('fleeting, transitory, flying'), from the verb 'volare' meaning 'to fly'. Originally used in 17th-century chemistry to describe substances that evaporate quickly into vapor.