volatile
VOL-uh-tuladjMeaning likely to change suddenly, often for the worse
Memory hook VOL-atile: a VOLCANO ready to blow. Dev’s science-fair volcano rumbles and fizzes, and no one knows when it will blow. Anything ready to erupt or change suddenly is volatile.
The volatile stock market rose sharply in the morning and fell by afternoon.
In context The mood at the meeting was volatile: one careless word, and the calm discussion could explode into shouting.
Similar unstable, explosive, unpredictable, changeable
Opposite stable, steady, calm
From Latin volatilis, “flying,” from volare, “to fly”: a volatile liquid quickly flies off into the air.