labile
adjective
la·bile
ˈlā-ˌbī(-ə)l
-bəl
1
: readily or continually undergoing chemical, physical, or biological change or breakdown : unstable
a labile mineral
2
: readily open to change
has so labile a face that some of her scenes … rock with emotion—Manny Farber
Did you know?
Labile was borrowed into English from French and can be traced back (by way of Middle French labile, meaning "prone to err") to the Latin verb labi, meaning "to slip or fall." Indeed, the first sense of labile in English was "prone to slip, err, or lapse," but that use is now obsolete. Other labi descendants in English include collapse, elapse, and prolapse, as well as lapse itself.
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Cite this Entry
“Labile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/labile. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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