Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

volatile

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore V words

liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, often for the worse

Word origin: From Latin volare, to fly.

Start a free GRE mock test 39 minutes · free · instant score
In a sentence

Volatile in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing volatile in a sentence.

The volatile market swung wildly with each piece of news.

The region's volatile politics made long-term investment a gamble that few firms were willing to take.

Synonyms
unstableerraticmercurialexplosive
Antonyms
stablesteady

Quick GRE check

Question 1 of 3

3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?

Verbal · Sentence Equivalence

Critics complained that the documentary's narration was relentlessly blank, hammering home its single thesis so often that viewers felt lectured rather than informed.

Select the two answers that give the sentence the same meaning. 0 of 2 selected.

Usage & nuance

Using “volatile” well

Volatile means liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, often for the worse, applied to markets, moods, or situations. It is the opposite of stable or steady.

Common questions

Questions about “volatile”

Volatile (adjective) means liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, often for the worse
Here is volatile used in an example sentence: "The volatile market swung wildly with each piece of news." Another example: "The region's volatile politics made long-term investment a gamble that few firms were willing to take."
Common synonyms for volatile include unstable, erratic, mercurial, explosive.
Antonyms of volatile include stable, steady.
Clusters with unstable, erratic, mercurial, and explosive in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms stable and steady mark the reversed sense.
Yes. Volatile is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

See these words the way the GRE tests them.

Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.