English · Word Candidate

volatile

/ˈvɒl.əˌtaɪl/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: volatiles

Sense 1

Meaning · English

Evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions.

Adjective

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

Of a substance, explosive.

AdjectiveRegister: informal

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Meaning · English

A chemical or compound that changes into a gas easily.

Noun

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 4

Meaning · English

A variable that is volatile, i.e. has its associated memory immediately updated with any change in value.

Noun

Examples

Operations on C++ volatiles do put the compiler on notice that the object may be modified asynchronously, and hence are generally safer to use than ordinary variable accesses.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “volatile” mean?

Evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions.

Is “volatile” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.