unstable
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- insecure, precarious, shaky, tottering, unsettled, unsteady, wobbly
- changeable, fitful, fluctuating, inconstant, unpredictable, variable, volatile
- unpredictable, capricious, changeable, erratic, inconsistent, irrational, temperamental

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Antonyms: stable
Contrasted words: secure, steady
Related Words: insecure, uncertain, unsteady, buoyant, effervescent, elastic, resilient, freakish

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English Thesaurus: mentally ill, crazy, mad, insane, disturbed, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

un‧sta‧ble AC /ʌnˈsteɪbəl/ adjective

1. likely to change suddenly and become worse ⇒ instability:
The political situation is still very unstable.
an unstable relationship

2. something that is unstable is likely to move or fall

3. someone who is unstable changes very suddenly so that you do not know how they will react or behave:
a mentally unstable man

4. an unstable chemical is likely to separate into simpler substances

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

unstable
adj.
I. likely to change suddenly
VERBS appear, be, seem | become | remain | make sth, render sth Prison order is rendered unstable by young inmates serving short sentences.
ADV. extremely, highly, very | increasingly | rather, relatively, somewhat | basically, inherently | notoriously The building trade is notoriously unstable.
economically, politically a politically unstable region

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

unstable
II. not mentally normal
VERBS be, seem | become
ADV. highly, very | rather | emotionally, mentally vulnerable, emotionally unstable individuals

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

unstable
III. likely to move or fall
VERBS be, feel, look, seem | become, get The building was beginning to get unstable.
make sth
ADV. dangerously, extremely, very The wall was dangerously unstable.
rather, slightly

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

mentally ill having an illness that affects your mind and your behaviour:
Many mentally ill people are treated in the community.
He was declared mentally ill and unfit to stand trial.
crazy informal mentally ill:
I couldn’t think straight. I felt like I was going crazy (=becoming crazy).
mad old-fashioned mentally ill. This word is now usually considered offensive, and is usually used in a different meaning, when you think that someone's ideas are not sensible:
Swift himself went mad (=became mad) later in life.
a mad old woman
insane [not before noun] old-fashioned having a serious and permanent mental illness:
She went insane after her two young sons were murdered.
a hospital for the criminally insane
disturbed not behaving in a normal way because of mental or emotional problems, especially problems that are caused by bad experiences:
She teaches emotionally disturbed children.
Her experiences left her deeply disturbed.
unstable having an emotional state that often changes very suddenly:
Her mother was mentally unstable.
He lived in a small Putney flat with his ageing Aunt Bunny, and his emotionally unstable sister, Nancy.
He was too unstable to be a leader.
deranged behaving in a crazy or dangerous way, usually because of being mentally ill:
A deranged young woman entered the school and took the life of one young boy.
psychopathic having a serious and permanent mental illness that causes violent or criminal behaviour:
The film is about a psychopathic killer.
psychotic suffering from or caused by a serious mental illness that changes your character and makes you unable to behave in a normal way:
psychiatric services for chronic psychotic patients.
There is a tendency for psychotic illnesses to be inherited.
neurotic relating to or suffering from a mental illness that makes you unreasonably worried of frightened:
His mother was neurotic and insecure.
She's neurotic about her weight.
A bored or lonely horse may become so neurotic that it chases itself around in circles.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲