instability
/ɪnstəˈbɪlɪti/US/ˌɪnstəˈbɪləti/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
instability noun: the quality of being unstable.
Noun
instability (countable and uncountable, plural instabilities)
- The quality of being unstable.
- The template is [Richard] Nixon’s “madman theory” of diplomatic engagement – shorthand for prompting your adversaries to doubt your sanity and mental instability to the point where they are intimidated into otherwise unlikely concessions.2026 April 8, Robert Tait, “Trump may be using Nixon’s ‘madman theory’ – and similar infamy may await”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 08 Apr 2026
- Synonyms:
- unstability, unstableness, volatility
- A state that is not in equilibrium, or in which a small change has a large irreversible effect.
instability meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
instability in Hindi
- quality of being unstable
- असंतुलन asantulan
instability in Tamil
- உறுதியின்மை, நிலையாமை, நிலையின்மை, நில்லாமை, அற்காமை, நிலை கொள்ளாமை
instability in Marathi
- अस्थिरता
instability in Urdu
- عدم ثبات
More languagesFewer languages
- instability in Bengali
- অস্থায়িত্ব ôsthayitvô, অনিত্যতা ônittyôta, পরিবর্তনশীলতা pôribôrtônośilôta
- instability in Telugu
- అస్థిరత, అస్థిరత్వం
- instability in Malayalam
- അസ്ഥിരത asthirata, ചടുലത caṭulata
- instability in Kannada
- ಕದಲಿಕೆ, ಅಲುಗುವಿಕೆ, ನೆಲೆಗೊಳ್ಳದಿರುವಿಕೆ, ಅಸ್ಥಿರತೆ
- instability in Punjabi
- ਅਸਥਿਰਤਾ
- instability in Gujarati
- અસ્થિરતા
- instability in Odia
- ଅସ୍ଥିରତା, ଅସ୍ଥିତିଶୀଳତା
- instability in Nepali
- अस्थिरता
- instability in Malay
- ketidakstabilan
- instability in Persian
- ناپایداری nâpâydâri
Examples of instability in a sentence
- Edward the Confessor's heirlessness led to instability in England.
- The thesis is that to improve further the lines of defence against financial instability we should strengthen the macroprudential orientation of the regulatory and supervisory framework.
- The language is also under constant changes which may cause instability and compatibility issues.
Synonyms of instability
Forms of instability
| plural | instabilities |
|---|
Origin of instability
From Middle French instabilité, from Latin instabilitas. Morphologically in- + stability.
Words formed from instability
Phrases with instability
Words that rhyme with instability
- sensibility
- utility
- facility
- ability
- disability
- compatibility
- possibility
- probability
- fertility
- fragility
- futility
- impossibility
36 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- senility
- virility
- vulnerability
- agility
- capability
- comfortability
- flexibility
- hostility
- improbability
- indomitability
- juvenility
- nobility
- stability
- accommodability
- affability
- backward compatibility
- backwards compatibility
- bouncebackability
- chewability
- creatability
- debility
- diffability
- ductility
- forward compatibility
- forwards compatibility
- fuckability
- humility
- impressionability
- ineffability
- irascibility
- manageability
- mutility
- tabability
- unassailability
- upward compatibility
- versatility
Questions about instability
- What does instability mean?
- Instability means the quality of being unstable.
- What is instability in Hindi?
- Instability in Hindi is असंतुलन (asantulan). See Instability meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is instability?
- Instability is a noun.
- How do you pronounce instability?
- Instability is pronounced /ɪnstəˈbɪlɪti/ (UK).
- What is the plural of instability?
- The plural of instability is instabilities.
Words near instability in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: instability (page history and authors); instability (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); instability (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); instability (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); অনিত্যতা (Bengali) (page history and authors); instability (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); അസ്ഥിരത (Malayalam) (page history and authors); instability (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); instability (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); instability (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); instability (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); instability (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-instability.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-instability.wav.
Cite this entry: “instability.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/instability. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.