Volatile
['vɒlətaɪl] or ['vɑlətl]
Definition
(noun.) a volatile substance; a substance that changes readily from solid or liquid to a vapor; 'it was heated to evaporate the volatiles'.
(adj.) tending to vary often or widely; 'volatile stocks'; 'volatile emotions' .
(adj.) evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures; 'volatile oils'; 'volatile solvents' .
Edited by Darrell--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Passing through the air on wings, or by the buoyant force of the atmosphere; flying; having the power to fly.
(a.) Capable of wasting away, or of easily passing into the aeriform state; subject to evaporation.
(a.) Fig.: Light-hearted; easily affected by circumstances; airy; lively; hence, changeable; fickle; as, a volatile temper.
(n.) A winged animal; wild fowl; game.
Checked by Dylan
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Evaporable.[2]. Airy, gay, lively, jolly, sprightly, vivacious, buoyant, full of spirit, jocund.[3]. Fickle, changeable, giddy, inconstant, flighty, reckless, uncircumspect, wild, hare-brained, HARUM-SCARUM.
Checker: Vivian
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Vaporizable, sublimable, distillable, airy, spirituous, evaporating, gay, Iively,{[ flipity]?}, capricious, irresolute
ANT:Fixed, solid, persistent, dull, somber, demure, steady, determined, resolute,involatile
Checked by Jennie
Examples
- Lydgate made her drink a dose of sal volatile. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- A refrigerating chamber _b_, submerged in the water, is charged internally with some volatile liquid, such as ether. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- This employed anhydrous sulphurous acid as the volatile agent, and is described in United States patent No. 187,413, February 13, 1877; French patent No. 109,003, of 1875. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Have you any salts--volatile salts? Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Osmium from a volatile compound of same thus deposited makes a filament as good as carbon when in vacuo. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The volatile parts are carried off by the pipe, and the solid carbonaceous matter, or coke, is left in the retort. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- The mixture should be preserved in bottles with glass stoppers, as the benzine is very volatile. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Salicylic acid is a white, dry, crystalline powder, devoid of smell or taste, undergoes no change when kept in store, and is neither inflammable nor volatile. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Ain't I volatile, Mr. Copperfield? Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Raymond is a witness what ginger and sal volatile I am obliged to take in the night. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- The chloroform being volatile and very heavy, settled in the box and displaced all the air. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Mr. Copperfield, ain't I volatile? Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- The ether especially is so volatile that an open bottle will take fire from a gas-jet or blaze several feet away if the draft is right. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- No doubt, thought I, this gay young volatile creature, surrounded as he is by temptation, will forget me in less than a month! Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- The gas is mingled with various volatile products as it issues from the retort, and requires to be purified before it is fitted for illumination. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
Edited by Jonathan