astatic

1 9.9

Not steady and likely to change

adjective
/æˈsteɪtɪk/

: inestable

His emotions were astatic after the news, fluctuating between joy and sadness.

Examples

The weather in the mountains is often astatic, changing from sunny to stormy within minutes.
Almost astatic.

Lost Horizon (1973)
QI'RA: Well, the only known source of astatic coaxium is a fissure vent beneath the spice mines on Kessel.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
The stock market is notoriously astatic, with prices that can rise and fall dramatically in a single day.

Synonyms

unstable

vsastatic

128 4.4

Not steady and likely to change, fail, or fall

has identical meaning and expresses being prone to change or fluctuation

unsteady

vsastatic

16 3.3

Not firm or balanced and likely to fall

means lack of steadiness generally rather than only physical movement

unsettled

vsastatic

4 4.3

Weather that often changes, bringing rain or strong wind

applies broadly to anything prone to change or fluctuation

Antonyms

stable

467 2.3

Not likely to change and stays steady over time

steady

327 2.0

Not changing over time and remaining the same

Compounds

astatic coils

Specialized

9.9

A set of loops of wire that cancels outside magnetic fields in sensitive instruments

astatic galvanometer

Specialized

9.9

An instrument with a moving magnet and wire coils that cancels Earth's magnetic field to measure very small electric currents

How Stable

stable

467 2.3

steady

171 1.3

astatic

1 9.9

variable

49 3.6

erratic

82 6.1

Surface Forms

astatic positive

Morphology

astatic = static (semi-transparent) = a + static

The sense is basically 'not static', but the learned negative prefix 'a-' is less familiar and less productive for typical learners than everyday prefixes like 'un-'.

Etymology

Astatic comes from a- meaning 'not' and static meaning 'standing still', like static or 'stationary'. So, astatic describes something that is not steady and that often changes.