labile

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: la=bile

CIDE DICTIONARY

labile, a. [L. labilis apt to slip, fr. labi to slip.].

•  Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.  Cheyne.  [1913 Webster]
•  Liable or likely to change.  [PJC]
•  Easily decomposed or inactivated when subjected to heat, radiation, or mildly acidic or alkaline conditions; -- of chemical compounds; as, enzymes from thermophilic organisms are not as labile as those from mesophiles.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

labile, adj. Chem. (of a compound) unstable; liable to displacement or change esp. if an atom or group is easily replaced by other atoms or groups.

Derivative

lability n.

Etymology

ME f. LL labilis f. labi to fall