labile

Definition

Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lābilis (“apt to slip, transient”), from lābor, lābī (“slip; glide, flow”).

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."

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