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Labile vs Volatile - What's the difference?

labile | volatile |

As adjectives the difference between labile and volatile

is that labile is liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize while volatile is evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions.

labile

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.
  • Apt or likely to change.
  • *, II.12:
  • Pythagoras [said] that each thing or matter was ever gliding and labile .
  • (chemistry, of a compound or bond) Kinetically unstable; rapidly cleaved (and possibly reformed).
  • Certain drugs can be conjugated to polymer molecules with a linkage that is labile at low pH to effect controlled release in a cellular endosome.
    Water ligands typically bind metals in a labile fashion and are rapidly interchanged in aqueous solution.

    Derived terms

    * labile verb

    Anagrams

    * * * ----

    volatile

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (physics) evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions.
  • (of a substance, informal) explosive.
  • (of a price etc) variable or erratic.
  • (of a person) quick to become angry or violent.
  • fickle.
  • temporary or ephemeral.
  • (of a situation) potentially violent.
  • (computing, of a variable) having its associated memory immediately updated with any changes in value.
  • (computing, of memory) whose content is lost when the computer is powered down
  • (obsolete) Passing through the air on wings, or by the buoyant force of the atmosphere; flying; having the power to fly.
  • Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * volatility * volatile memory