Navigation
Home
Resources
Irregular verbs quizzes English conjugator English-French dictionary French dictionary English dictionary Monolingual dictionaries Scores by institution Free sample tests FAQ Pricing Tourism training Blog Videos
Login Sign up
Blog
Videos
Pricing
FR EN

variable

adj, noun — 13 senses

variable

adj

UK [ˈvɛə.ɹi.ə.bl̩] · US [ˈvæɹ.i.ə.bl̩]

Etymology Borrowed into Middle English in the 14th century from Old French variable, from Latin variare (“to change”), from varius (“different, various”). Equates to English vary + -able.

1

Able to vary or be varied.

  • variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity; a variable resistor
2

Likely to vary.

  • Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
3

Marked by diversity or difference.

4

Mathematics, Sciences Having no fixed quantitative value.

5

Biology, Natural sciences Tending to deviate from a normal or recognized type.

Synonyms
30 termscapricious, changeful, fickle, fitful, flexible, fluctuating, fluid, iffy, inconstant, irregular, mercurial, mobile, mutable, protean, shifting, shifty, slippery, spasmodic, temperamental, ticklish, uncertain, unequable, unsettled, unstable, unsteady, vacillating, volatile, waffling, wavering, yo-yo
Derived terms
continuous variable valve timing, controlled variable time, multivariable, variability, variabilize, variable antshrike, variable binding, variable cam timing, variable cost, variable font, variable geometry, variable-length array, variable neon slug, variableness, variable squirrel, variable sweep, variable tandem repeat locus, variable valve timing

variable

noun

Etymology Borrowed into Middle English in the 14th century from Old French variable, from Latin variare (“to change”), from varius (“different, various”). Equates to English vary + -able.

8 senses
  1. 1Something that is variable.
  2. 2Something whose value may be dictated or discovered.
  3. 3A quantity that may assume any one of a set of values.
  4. 4A symbol representing a variable.
  5. 5A named memory location in which a program can store…
  6. 6A variable star.
  7. 7A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.
  8. 8Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not…
1

Something that is variable.

2

Something whose value may be dictated or discovered.

  • There are several variables to consider here.
  • Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:
3

Mathematics, Sciences A quantity that may assume any one of a set of values.

4

Mathematics, Sciences A symbol representing a variable.

5

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences A named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them.

6

Astronomy, Natural sciences A variable star.

7

Nautical, Transport A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.

8

Nautical, Transport In plural Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts.

Synonyms
variable
Derived terms
Hubble-Sandage variable, microvariable, variably
Related terms
variable star, argument, variate, unsteady
Hyponyms
56 termsacross variable, Algol variable, Bernoulli variable, Boolean variable, bound variable, cardinal variable, categorical variable, Cepheid variable, cepheid variable, class variable, cluster variable, confounding variable, continuously variable transmission, continuous variable, control variable, dependent variable, discrete variable, dummy variable, environment variable, extraneous variable, flow variable, free variable, helium variable, hidden variable, hypergeometric random variable, independent variable, indicator variable, instance variable, interval variable, latent variable, manipulated variable, member variable, metasyntactic variable, Mira variable, motor variable, nominal variable, normal random variable, ordinal variable, outcome variable, pattern variable, predictor variable, propositional variable, random variable, ratio variable, reference variable, register variable, responding variable, schematic variable, slack variable, sociolinguistic variable, standardized variable, standard normal random variable, state variable, stock variable, through variable, variable variable
Coordinate terms
coefficient

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.