Noun

Singular volatility

Plural uncountable

volatility (uncountable)

1. The state of being volatile
   1. The state of having a low boiling point and evaporating readily
   2. (computing) The state of not retaining data in the absence of power
   3. The state of being able to fly
   4. The state of being unpredictable
   5. (Financial markets, countable, plural volatilities) A quantification of the degree of uncertainty about the future price of a commodity, share, or other financial product

Volatile means changing or changeable. Its noun form is volatility, which refers to any of several measures of instability. It can refer to:

In chemistry:

• Volatility (chemistry), a measure of the tendency of a substance to vaporize. It has also been defined as a measure of how readily a substance vaporizes.
• Relative volatility, a measure of vapor pressures of the components in a liquid mixture
• Volatiles, a group of compounds with low boiling points that are associated with a planet's or moon's crust and/or atmosphere
• Volatile organic compounds, organic compounds that can evaporate at normal temperature and pressure, and are often regulated by governments
• Volatile anaesthetics, a class of anaesthetics which evaporate easily
• Volatile substance abuse, the abuse of household inhalants containing volatile compounds
• Volatile oil, also known as essential oil, an oil derived from plants with aromatic compounds used in cosmetics and flavoring
• Volatile acidity, a term used in winemaking to indicate an unacceptably high level of acid or vinegar and baking soda.

In computer science:

• Volatile variables, variables that can be changed by an external process
• Volatile memory, memory that lasts only while the power is on (and thus would be lost after a restart)

In astronomy:

• Volatile a chunk of frozen gasses found mostly in the Kuiper belt.

In economics:

• Volatility (finance), a measure of the risk in a financial instrument

In geology:

• Volatiles, the volatile compounds of magma (mostly water vapor) that affect the appearance and strength of volcanoes

In the mathematical theory of probability:

• Stochastic volatility

In politics:

• Pedersen index, a measure of electoral volatility in political party systems

Other uses:

• Volatile Games, a video games maker