Meaning & use
stable environment
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Meaning
nouncountable
Surroundings or conditions that stay steady and predictable rather than changing suddenly.
Grammar: Countable, usually singular with a: children thrive in a stable environment.
Patterns
- provide a stable environment
- in a stable environment
Children do best in a stable environment with regular routines.
The lab keeps temperature and humidity constant to create a stable environment for the experiment.
Investors want a stable environment before they commit money.
Word forms
| plural | stable environments |
|---|
Common combinations
- provide a stable environment
- Foster parents try to provide a stable environment.
- maintain a stable environment
- The greenhouse maintains a stable environment for the orchids.
- a stable working environment
- Staff asked for a stable working environment after the layoffs.
- in a stable environment
- Cells grow best in a stable environment.
- create a stable environment
- Good schools create a stable environment for learning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- steady setting
- Steady setting is informal and less common, with the same sense of no sudden changes.
- secure surroundings
- Secure surroundings stresses safety more than steadiness.
- predictable setting
- Predictable setting emphasises that you know what to expect.
- settled situation
- Settled situation is looser and refers to circumstances in general, not physical conditions.
Opposites
Word family
- stable adjective
- not likely to change or fall
- stability noun
- the state of being steady
- stabilize verb
- to make or become steady
- environmental adjective
- relating to surroundings
Commonly confused: stable environment or stable?
stable environment vs stable
A stable can also be a building for horses, which is a different noun from the adjective stable.
Practice
The parents moved to a smaller town to give their daughter a more ____ environment.
Choose one answer.
An adjective is needed before the noun environment, so stable is correct. Stably is an adverb, stability a noun and stabilize a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stable environment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.