volatile

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The oils easily evaporate - hence the term 'volatile' - and these are the chemicals sensed by your nose.

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Definitions (29)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (8)

  1. adjective Chemistry Evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures.
  2. adjective Chemistry That can be readily vaporized.
  3. adjective Tending to vary often or widely, as in price: the ups and downs of volatile stocks.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (14)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

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Examples (50)

  • The problem is that their incomes are very volatile, which is part of why they smooth out their consumption. —  DMI Blog
  • The market is volatile, and a boastful chap who says he has one leg in the poor house at 10 a.m. may be in clover by noon and wiped out again by the closing bell. —  post-gazette.com - News
  • With world markets turning volatile, the threat of a hedge fund disaster looms. —  Forbes.com: News
  • Can mining companies afford to remain as a volatile, high-risk part of an investor's portfolio? —  Canadian Mining Journal - Headline News
  • The system is self configuring among nodes which need no non-volatile or permanent storage. —  Wi-Fi Networking News
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, from Old French, from Latin volātilis, flying, from volātus, past participle of volāre, to fly.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English volatil, n., from Old French (and F.) volatil = Spanish volaátil = Portuguese volatil = Italian volatile, from Latin volatilis, flying, winged (Late Latin neuter volatile, a winged creature, a fowl), from volare, fly: see volant.
 

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/ˈvɑlətɪl/
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