disequilibrium

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˌdɪsikwɪˈlɪbriəm/ UK /ˌdɪsiːkwɪˈlɪbrɪəm/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a loss or lack of balance or stability

The sudden shock threw the market into disequilibrium.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a loss or lack of balance... imbalance instability unsteadinessunbalance

Opposites

equilibrium balance stability steadiness

Word family

Related forms equilibrium equilibrate equallibra

Etymology

From dis- ('lack of') + equilibrium, from Latin aequilibrium ('equal balance'), from aequus ('equal') + libra ('balance, scales').

aequilibrium Latin libra Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# disequilibrium

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌdɪsikwɪˈlɪbriəm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌdɪsiːkwɪˈlɪbrɪəm/

## Meanings
1. a loss or lack of balance or stability

## Examples
- The sudden shock threw the market into disequilibrium.

## Synonyms
- imbalance
- instability
- unsteadiness
- unbalance

## Antonyms
- equilibrium
- balance
- stability
- steadiness

## Related Forms
- equilibrium
- equilibrate
- equal
- libra

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: aequilibrium
- Root: libra

## Etymology
From dis- ('lack of') + equilibrium, from Latin aequilibrium ('equal balance'), from aequus ('equal') + libra ('balance, scales').

## AI Etymology
Disequilibrium is from dis- ('lack of') + equilibrium, from Latin aequilibrium ('equal balance'), from aequus ('equal') + libra ('balance, scales'). The ancestry passes through Latin aequilibrium and Latin libra. The prefix dis- often marks separation, reversal, or negation in Latin and English formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as a noun, it means "a loss or lack of balance or stability", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include equilibrium, equilibrate, equal, and libra.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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