 4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
variable
adjective
1: liable to or capable of change; "rainfall in the tropics is
notoriously variable"; "variable winds"; "variable
expenses" [ant: {invariable}]
2: marked by diversity or difference; "the varying angles of
roof slope"; "nature is infinitely variable" [syn: {varying}]
3: (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"
noun
1: something that is likely to vary; something that is subject
to variation; "the weather is one variable to be
considered"
2: a quantity that can assume any of a set of values [syn: {variable
quantity}]
3: a star that varies noticeably in brightness [syn: {variable
star}]
4: a symbol (like x or y) that is used in mathematical or
logical expressions to represent a variable quantity
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Variable \Va"ri*a*ble\, noun
1. That which is variable; that which varies, or is subject
to change.
2. (Math.) A quantity which may increase or decrease; a
quantity which admits of an infinite number of values in
the same expression; a variable quantity; as, in the
equation x^{2} - y^{2} = R^{2}, x and y are variables.
3. (Naut.)
(a) A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.
(b) pl. Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not
expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind
belts.
{Independent variable} (Math.), that one of two or more
variables, connected with each other in any way whatever,
to which changes are supposed to be given at will. Thus,
in the equation x^{2} - y^{2} = R^{2}, if arbitrary
changes are supposed to be given to x, then x is the
independent variable, and y is called a function of x.
There may be two or more independent variables in an
equation or problem. Cf. {Dependent variable}, under
{Dependent}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Variable \Va"ri*a*ble\, adjective [L. variabilis: cf. F. variable.]
1. Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of
alternation in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds
or seasons; a variable quantity.
2. Liable to vary; too susceptible of change; mutable;
fickle; unsteady; inconstant; as, the affections of men
are variable; passions are variable.
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. --Shak.
His heart, I know, how variable and vain! --Milton.
{Variable exhaust} (Steam Eng.), a blast pipe with an
adjustable opening.
{Variable quantity} (Math.), a variable.
{Variable stars} (Astron.), fixed stars which vary in their
brightness, usually in more or less uniform periods.
Syn: Changeable; mutable; fickle; wavering; unsteady;
versatile; inconstant.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
181 Moby Thesaurus words for "variable":
able to adapt, adaptable, adjustable, adrift, afloat, agnostic,
alterable, alterative, alternating, ambiguous, amorphous, broken,
capricious, careening, catchy, chancy, changeable, changeful,
changing, checkered, choppy, desultory, deviable, deviating,
deviative, deviatory, dicey, different, disconnected,
discontinuous, disorderly, divaricate, divergent, diversified,
diversiform, dizzy, doubting, eccentric, equivocal, erose, erratic,
ever-changing, fast and loose, fickle, fitful, flexible,
flickering, flighty, flitting, fluctuating, fluid, freakish, giddy,
guttering, halting, herky-jerky, hesitant, hesitating, heteroclite,
immethodical, impermanent, impetuous, impulsive, incalculable,
inconsistent, inconstant, indecisive, indemonstrable, infirm,
intermittent, intermitting, irregular, irresolute, irresponsible,
jagged, jerky, kaleidoscopic, lurching, malleable, many-sided,
mazy, mercurial, metamorphic, mobile, modifiable, moody, motley,
movable, mutable, nonconformist, nonstandard, nonuniform, patchy,
permutable, plastic, pluralistic, polysemous, protean, proteiform,
ragged, rambling, resilient, restless, rough, roving, rubbery,
scatterbrained, scrappy, shapeless, shifting, shifty, shuffling,
skeptical, slippery, snatchy, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic,
spastic, spineless, sporadic, spotty, staggering, supple,
temperamental, ticklish, touch-and-go, transient, transitory,
uncertain, unconfirmable, uncontrolled, unconvinced, undependable,
undisciplined, undivinable, unequable, unequal, uneven, unfixed,
unforeseeable, unmethodical, unmetrical, unorthodox, unpersuaded,
unpredictable, unprovable, unregular, unreliable, unrestrained,
unrhythmical, unsettled, unstable, unstable as water, unstaid,
unsteadfast, unsteady, unsure, unsystematic, ununiform,
unverifiable, vacillating, vagrant, variegated, variform, various,
varying, veering, vicissitudinary, vicissitudinous, volatile,
wandering, wanton, wavering, wavery, wavy, wayward, whimsical,
wishy-washy, wobbling, wobbly
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