Variable
WordNet
adjective
(1) (used of a device) designed so that a property (as e.g. light) can be varied
"A variable capacitor"
"Variable filters in front of the mercury xenon lights"
(2) Liable to or capable of change
"Rainfall in the tropics is notoriously variable"
"Variable winds"
"Variable expenses"
(3) Marked by diversity or difference
"The varying angles of roof slope"
"Nature is infinitely variable"
noun
(4) A quantity that can assume any of a set of values
(5) A symbol (like x or y) that is used in mathematical or logical expressions to represent a variable quantity
(6) Something that is likely to vary; something that is subject to variation
"The weather is one variable to be considered"
(7) A star that varies noticeably in brightness
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From < < .
Adjective
- able to vary
- likely to vary
- marked by diversity or difference
- having no fixed quantitative value
- tending to deviate from a normal or recognized type
Synonyms
- (able to vary): alterable, flexible, changeable, mutable
- (likely to vary): fickle, fluctuating, inconstant, shifting, unstable, unsteady
- (marked by diversity or difference): varying
- (biology: tending to deviate from a normal or recognized type): aberrant
Antonyms
- (able to vary): constant, invariable, immutable, unalterable, unchangeable
- (likely to vary): constant, invariable, immutable, unchangeable
- (marked by diversity or difference): unchanging
- (mathematics: having no fixed quantitative value): constant, invariable
Noun
- something that is variable
- something whose value may be dictated or discovered
- There are several variables to consider here.
- a quantity that may assume any one of a set of values
- a symbol representing a variable
- a named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them
- a variable star
Synonyms
- (something that is variable): changeable
- (something whose value may be dictated or discovered): parameter
- (mathematics: a quantity that may assume any one of a set of values): variable quantity