instability

[in-stuh-bil-i-tee] / ˌɪn stəˈbɪl ɪ ti /

NOUN

imbalance, inconstancy

Synonyms

STRONGEST

anxiety fluctuation insecurity uncertainty volatility vulnerability weakness

STRONG

alternation capriciousness changeability changeableness disequilibrium disquiet fickleness fitfulness flightiness fluidity frailty hesitation immaturity impermanence inconsistency inquietude irregularity irresolution mutability oscillation pliancy precariousness restlessness shakiness transience unpredictability unreliability unsteadiness vacillation variability wavering

WEAK

unfixedness

Antonyms

STRONG

calm

WEAK

balance constancy soundness stability steadfastness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Four recently published UCLA-led studies draw a direct line between climate disasters, housing instability and homelessness, with researchers pointing to the 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires as one of the starkest recent examples.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

Colles, or tower-building clubs, multiplied after the custom featured in the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and have offered a haven during recent periods of instability.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Second, private-credit funds do little of the maturity transformation that lies at the heart of banking instability.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

"For the past five decades, we both have been facing instability in our countries in the form of refugees," Durrani says.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

“I know what removal would mean. I’m not a child. It would mean complete instability, with no nonimaginary solutions to the positronic Field Equations.”

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

Vocabulary lists containing instability

Southeast Asia - Middle School

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Southeast Asia - High School

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Second Democratic Debate 20 words

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