Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Liable to change; unstable: Describes something that is prone to change, shift, or is not constant, especially in terms of emotional state or chemical composition.
   • Readily undergoing change or breakdown: Used in scientific contexts (chemistry, physics, biology) to describe a substance, compound, or system that is unstable and can easily decompose, react, or transform.

Usage Examples

• General/Emotional Context:
  • The patient's mood was labile, shifting from joy to despair without warning.
  • In times of great stress, her emotions become more labile.
• Scientific Context:
  • This particular ester is highly labile and decomposes rapidly at room temperature.
  • The labile protein complex dissociates easily under physiological conditions.

Advanced Usage

• "Emotionally labile": A common collocation describing a person whose emotional state changes frequently and intensely.
  • The diagnosis noted that the individual was emotionally labile.
• "Thermally labile": Used in chemistry to describe a compound unstable to heat.
  • The vitamin is thermally labile and should not be exposed to high temperatures during cooking.
• "Labile pool": A term in biology or biochemistry referring to a readily available and exchangeable reserve of a substance within an organism.
  • The study measured the labile pool of phosphorus in the soil.

Variants and Related Words

• Lability (n): The quality or state of being labile.
  • The lability of his affect was a key symptom.
  • Chemical lability is a crucial factor in drug design.

Synonyms

• Unstable
• Changeable
• Fluctuating
• Volatile (especially for emotions or chemicals)
• Reactive (in chemistry)

Antonyms

• Stable
• Constant
• Steady
• Inert (in chemistry)

Related Scientific Terms

• Labile bond: A chemical bond that is easily broken.
  • The molecule contains a labile bond that is cleaved by enzymes.
• Labile factor: In biochemistry, a component of a system that is easily inactivated or depleted.
  • Factor V is known as a labile factor in the blood coagulation cascade.

Adjective

1. liable to change
   • an emotionally labile person
2. (chemistry, physics, biology) readily undergoing change or breakdown