Variable

Variable , adjective

[Latin variabilis: compare French variable.]

Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of alternation in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity.

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. — Shakespeare

His heart, I know, how variable and vain! — Milton

Collocations (4)

Variable exhaust (Steam Eng.) , a blast pipe with an adjustable opening.

Variable quantity (Mathematics) , a variable.

Variable-rate mortgage (Finance) , a mortgage whose percentage interest rate varies depending on some agreed standard, such as the prime rate; -- used often in financing the purchase of a home. Such a mortgage usually has a lower initial interest rate than a fixed-rate mortgage, and this permits buyers of a home to finance the purchase a house of higher price than would be possible with a fixed-rate loan.

Variable stars (Astronomy) , fixed stars which vary in their brightness, usually in more or less uniform periods.

Variable , noun

That which is variable; that which varies, or is subject to change.

(Mathematics) 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 x2 - y2 = R2, x and y are variables.

(a) (Nautical) A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.

(b)

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

Collocations (1)

Independent variable (Mathematics) , 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 x2 - y2 = R2, 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. Compare Dependent variable, under Dependent.