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labile

[ ley-bahyl, -buhl ]

adjective

  1. apt or likely to change:

    the labile nature of language.

  2. (in chemistry, biology, psychiatry, etc.) able or likely to change or break down easily, rapidly, or continually; unstable:

    labile emotions;

    labile blood pressure;

    cellular functions that seem to require different levels of labile zinc.



labile

/ ˈleɪbɪl; ləˈbɪlɪtɪ /

adjective

  1. chem (of a compound) prone to chemical change
  2. liable to change or move
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • lability, noun
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Other Words From

  • la·bil·i·ty [l, uh, -, bil, -i-tee, ley-], noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of labile1

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English labil “(of the mind) wandering, forgetful,” from Latin lābilis “sliding, slipping, (of verse) smooth-flowing,” equivalent to Latin lāb(ī) “to slip” + -ilis -ile
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Word History and Origins

Origin of labile1

C15: via Late Latin lābilis, from Latin lābī to slide, slip
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Example Sentences

Someone with high IIV might be considered an emotionally labile person.

Inserting Blanchett’s labile performance into a grid or a bubble amounts to a dissection of emotion, which is perhaps what personality types are all about.

“These memories become labile for a short time, and then they actually have to be reconsolidated and laid down again,” he says.

From Nature

Arias, an exciting and emotionally labile actor, makes Anna a jittery creature, like a woman in the constant throes of a low-grade fever.

And Paramaisal rice has high levels of antioxidants, micronutrients and labile starch, which can be converted rapidly to energy.

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Labichelability