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volatile

VOL-uh-tuhl /ˈvɒlətaɪl/

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Evaporating rapidly; passing off readily in the form of vapor, especially at normal temperatures.

In food science, volatile compounds are the lightweight molecules that escape into the air, allowing us to perceive food aromas through our sense of smell.

The story behind the word. The word 'volatile' comes from the Latin 'volatilis', which meant 'flying' or 'winged'. In early chemistry, scientists used it to describe liquids that seemed to 'fly away' into the air as invisible vapors, leaving nothing behind in the container.

Word relationships

evaporative: Evaporative refers to the process of turning into vapor, while volatile describes the inherent tendency or ease of a substance to do so.

nonvolatile: Describing substances that do not readily evaporate at normal temperatures and remain in a liquid or solid state.

Commonly confused with

gaseous: Gaseous describes a substance that is already in a gas state at room temperature, whereas volatile describes a liquid or solid that easily vaporizes.

Word family

volatility (noun): The tendency of a substance to vaporize.
volatilize (verb): To cause to pass off in vapor.

Collocations

volatile organic compounds
highly volatile
volatile aromas

Example sentences

"Freshly ground coffee beans must be sealed quickly because their volatile aroma compounds escape rapidly into the air." Explaining why coffee loses its aroma.
"The loss of volatile compounds during thermal processing significantly reduces the perceived quality of fruit juices." A scientific paper on food preservation.

Memory hook

Think of a 'volley' of tennis balls flying over the net, just like volatile aroma molecules flying out of a hot bowl of soup into your nose. A volley of flying aroma molecules.

When not to use

In culinary contexts, do not use this to describe a person's explosive temper, though that is a common figurative meaning in general English.

Fun facts

Without volatile compounds, we wouldn't be able to taste the difference between an apple and an onion if our eyes were closed and our noses pinched.
Heating food increases the kinetic energy of these molecules, making them more volatile and explaining why hot food smells so much stronger than cold food.

Explore more words

volatility, Fluctuation, capricious, mutable, skittish, evanescent