labile

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lābilis (“apt to slip, transient”), from lābor, lābī (“slip; glide, flow”).

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈleɪbaɪl/

Adjective

labile (comparative more labile, superlative most labile)

  1. Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.
  2. Apt or likely to change.
    Synonym: unstable
  3. (chemistry, of a compound or bond) Kinetically unstable; rapidly cleaved (and possibly reformed).
    Certain drugs can be conjugated to polymer molecules with a linkage that is labile at low pH to effect controlled release in a cellular endosome.
    Water ligands typically bind metals in a labile fashion and are rapidly interchanged in aqueous solution.
  4. (linguistics, of a verb) Able to change valency without changing its form; especially, able to be used both transitively and intransitively without changing its form.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading
  • labile in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • labile in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • labile at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

Danish

Adjective

labile

  1. definite singular of labil
  2. indefinite plural of labil
  3. definite plural of labil

French

Etymology

From Latin lābilis (“apt to slip, transient”), from lābor, lābī (“slip; glide, flow”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /la.bil/
  • Audio (Belgium)(file)

Adjective

labile (plural labiles)

  1. labile

Further reading

Anagrams

Italian

Etymology

From Latin lābilis (“apt to slip, transient”), from lābor, lābī (“slip; glide, flow”).

Adjective

labile (masculine and feminine plural labili)

  1. fleeting, ephemeral
  2. fickle

Anagrams

Latin

Adjective

lābile

  1. nominative neuter singular of lābilis
  2. accusative neuter singular of lābilis
  3. vocative neuter singular of lābilis
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