Pronunciation: ['ley-bIl or 'ley-bêl]
Definition: Changeable, unstable; apt to slip away.
Usage: When used to describe personalities, today's word replaces "temperamental" or "moody," as in, "Birgitta was a labile lass with a personality hard to calculate." It also refers to unstable chemical and electrical changes. The noun is lability [lê-'bi-lê-tee].
Suggested Usage: Today's proffering works in discussions of international politics: "Don't talk to me about lability in the Middle East. We've reconsidered 3 vacations in the past 2 years over it." With its two 'liquid' sounds (L's in this case), the word is euphonic (nice-sounding) enough for poetic or romantic expression, "The sunny, labile days of that spring were hard to pin down in his memory; she was the constant that held that year together in his mind."
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