Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

labile

/ˈleɪ.baɪl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.06 in modern English

Syllables: la-bile
IPA: /ˈleɪ.baɪl/

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.

adj

Apt or likely to change.

adj

Of a compound or bond, kinetically unstable; rapidly cleaved (and possibly reformed).

adj

Of a verb, able to change valency without changing its form; especially, able to be used both transitively and intransitively without changing its form.

Example Sentences

"Pythagoras [said] that each thing or matter was ever gliding and labile."
"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."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂b-der.? Latin lābor Proto-Indo-European *-elis Proto-Italic *-elis Latin -ilis Latin lābilisbor. Middle French labilebor. English labile Borrowed from Middle French labile, borrowed from Latin lābilis (“slipping, transitent”).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈleɪ.baɪl/
British English: /ˈleɪ.baɪl/

Inflected Forms

more labile (comparative) most labile (superlative)

Derived Forms

frigolabile hemilabile labilely labilization labilize nonlabile photolabile stereolabile thermolabile

Phrases

heat labile labile affect labile verb

Frequently Paired Words

lability lapse labial

Synonyms

unstable ergative ambivalent diffused

Rhymes With

frigolabile

Questions

How do you pronounce labile?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈleɪ.baɪl/.
What does labile mean?: Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.
Where does labile come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂b-der.? Latin lābor Proto-Indo-European *-elis Proto-Italic *-elis Latin -ilis Latin lābilisbor. Middle French labilebor. English labile Borrowed from Middle French labile, borrowed from Latin lābilis (“slipping, transitent”).

How to pronounce labile

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈleɪ.baɪl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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