Skip to main content
Added a contrasting example for clarification
Source Link
Philip C
  • 151
  • 2
  • 7

I'm looking for a pair of adjectives which mean, respectively:

  • Fast/Frequently-changing
  • Slow/Rarely-changing

As an example usage:As an example usage:

Due to its everyday use, the balance of a current account can be quite fast-changing, but that of a savings account is more likely to be slow-changing.

And as a demonstrative graph: the value denoted by the red lines is more fast-changing, whereas the green value is a lot more slow-changing. The size of the changes is irrelevant - only the frequency is of importance.

Fast and slow changing graphs

The best I've come up with is volatile for the fast-changing part (probably closest to the third definition at dictionary.com), but I can't think of a suitable antonym. To me, stable has more of a connotation of not changing very much when it does change, as opposed to not changing very often.

By contrast:

Continuous graphs

If the green and red graphs above are frequently and infrequently changing respectively, then the orange, blue and purple graphs are changing continuously (infinitely frequently) - they're all way off to the "frequently" end of the spectrum.

I'm looking for a pair of adjectives which mean, respectively:

  • Fast/Frequently-changing
  • Slow/Rarely-changing

As an example usage:

Due to its everyday use, the balance of a current account can be quite fast-changing, but that of a savings account is more likely to be slow-changing.

And as a demonstrative graph: the value denoted by the red lines is more fast-changing, whereas the green value is a lot more slow-changing. The size of the changes is irrelevant - only the frequency is of importance.

Fast and slow changing graphs

The best I've come up with is volatile for the fast-changing part (probably closest to the third definition at dictionary.com), but I can't think of a suitable antonym. To me, stable has more of a connotation of not changing very much when it does change, as opposed to not changing very often.

I'm looking for a pair of adjectives which mean, respectively:

  • Fast/Frequently-changing
  • Slow/Rarely-changing

As an example usage:

Due to its everyday use, the balance of a current account can be quite fast-changing, but that of a savings account is more likely to be slow-changing.

And as a demonstrative graph: the value denoted by the red lines is more fast-changing, whereas the green value is a lot more slow-changing. The size of the changes is irrelevant - only the frequency is of importance.

Fast and slow changing graphs

The best I've come up with is volatile for the fast-changing part (probably closest to the third definition at dictionary.com), but I can't think of a suitable antonym. To me, stable has more of a connotation of not changing very much when it does change, as opposed to not changing very often.

By contrast:

Continuous graphs

If the green and red graphs above are frequently and infrequently changing respectively, then the orange, blue and purple graphs are changing continuously (infinitely frequently) - they're all way off to the "frequently" end of the spectrum.

Tweeted twitter.com/StackEnglish/status/666555777642033152
Source Link
Philip C
  • 151
  • 2
  • 7

A pair of words that mean fast- and slow- changing

I'm looking for a pair of adjectives which mean, respectively:

  • Fast/Frequently-changing
  • Slow/Rarely-changing

As an example usage:

Due to its everyday use, the balance of a current account can be quite fast-changing, but that of a savings account is more likely to be slow-changing.

And as a demonstrative graph: the value denoted by the red lines is more fast-changing, whereas the green value is a lot more slow-changing. The size of the changes is irrelevant - only the frequency is of importance.

Fast and slow changing graphs

The best I've come up with is volatile for the fast-changing part (probably closest to the third definition at dictionary.com), but I can't think of a suitable antonym. To me, stable has more of a connotation of not changing very much when it does change, as opposed to not changing very often.