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Unstable vs Rickety - What's the difference?

unstable | rickety |

Rickety is a synonym of unstable.



As adjectives the difference between unstable and rickety

is that unstable is having a strong tendency to change while rickety is of an object: not strong or sturdy, as because of poor construction or upkeep; not safe or secure; giddy; shaky.

unstable

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Having a strong tendency to change.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Yesterday’s fuel , passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.
  • Fluctuating; not constant.
  • Fickle.
  • Unpredictable.
  • (chemistry) Readily decomposable.
  • (physics) Radioactive, especially with a short half-life.

    • Synonyms

    * instable (rare) * (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) precarious, rickety, shaky, tottering, unsafe, unsteady, wobbly

    Antonyms

    * stable

    Related terms

    * instability * unstability (rare)

    Anagrams

    *

    rickety

    English

    Alternative forms

    * ricketty

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Of an object: not strong or sturdy, as because of poor construction or upkeep; not safe or secure; giddy; shaky.
    • He hesitated about climbing such a small, rickety ladder.
  • Of a person: feeble in the joints; tottering.
    • The rickety old man hardly managed to climb the stairs.
  • Affected with or suffering from rickets.

    • Synonyms

    * (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) precarious, unsteady, shaky, tottering, unsafe, unstable, wobbly