- 1the quality of a situation in which things are likely to change or fail suddenly political and economic instability Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveincreased, growing, increasing, … … of instabilitydegree verb + instabilitycause, create, foster, … instability + verbarise, occur, result from, … phrasesa period of instability, a source of instability See full entry See related entries: Economy
- 2a mental condition in which somebody’s behaviour is likely to change suddenly mental/emotional instability Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveincreased, growing, increasing, … … of instabilitydegree verb + instabilitycause, create, foster, … instability + verbarise, occur, result from, … phrasesa period of instability, a source of instability See full entry See related entries: Mental and emotional problems opposite stability see also unstable Word Originlate Middle English: from French instabilité, from Latin instabilitas, from instabilis, from in- ‘not’ + stabilis (from the base of stare ‘to stand’).Word Familystable adjective (≠unstable)stability noun (≠instability)stabilize verbExtra examples He showed increasing signs of mental instability. Instability may arise at times of change. Racism causes political instability and violence. The increased inflation will inject a degree of instability into the economy. The law was introduced to avoid instability during the transition. a long period of economic instability economic instability resulting from climate change the inherent instability of financial markets
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//ˌɪnstəˈbɪləti//; NAmE NAmE//ˌɪnstəˈbɪləti//
[uncountable, countable, usually plural] (pl. instabilities) Economy, Mental and emotional problemsCheck pronunciation: instability
