different between doubtful vs unstable

English

Alternative forms

• doubtfull (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English doutfull, douteful, equivalent to doubt +? -ful.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?da?tf?l/
• Hyphenation: doubt?ful

Adjective

doubtful (comparative more doubtful, superlative most doubtful)

1. Subject to, or causing doubt.
2. Experiencing or showing doubt, sceptical.
3. Undecided or of uncertain outcome.
4. (obsolete) Fearsome, dreadful.
5. Improbable or unlikely.
6. Suspicious, or of dubious character.
7. Unclear or unreliable.

Derived terms

• doubtfully
• doubtfulness

Translations

Noun

doubtful (plural doubtfuls)

1. A doubtful person or thing.
   • 1976, Kenneth Gibbons, Donald Cameron Rowat, Political Corruption in Canada: Cases, Causes and Cures (page 45)

     They had their lists of Liberals and of the doubtfuls who still remained doubtful. As the election drew near, the force of the whole organization was turned upon these unrepentant doubtfuls.

English

Etymology

un- +? stable

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?ste?b??/
• Rhymes: -e?b?l

Adjective

unstable (comparative more unstable, superlative most unstable)

1. Having a strong tendency to change.
2. Fluctuating; not constant.
3. Fickle.
4. Unpredictable.
5. (chemistry) Readily decomposable.
6. (physics) Radioactive, especially with a short half-life.

Synonyms

• (having strong tendency to change): labile
• (fluctuating, not constant): instable (rare); see also Thesaurus:unsteady
• (fickle): arbitrary, capricious
• (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over): tottering, unsteady, wobbly; see also Thesaurus:rickety

Antonyms

• stable

Related terms

• instability
• unstability (rare)

Translations

Verb

unstable (third-person singular simple present unstables, present participle unstabling, simple past and past participle unstabled)

1. (transitive) To release (an animal) from a stable.

Anagrams

• abluents, ant-blues, bleaunts, blue ants, tunables, unablest