fungible

[ fuhn-juh-buhl ]

adjective

1. Law, Commerce. (especially of goods) being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind:

   Appliances are usually fungible—that is, they can be replaced with cash or a similar item of equal value.

2. capable of being exchanged or interchanged; interchangeable:

   Neither ethanol nor biodiesel is fully fungible with petroleum-based fuels.

   Large corporations are likely to view both customers and employees as fungible, replaceable commodities.

fungible

/ ˈfʌndʒɪbəl /

noun

1. often plural moveable perishable goods of a sort that may be estimated by number or weight, such as grain, wine, etc

adjective

1. having the nature or quality of fungibles

Derived Forms

• ˌfungiˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• fun·gi·bil·i·ty [fuhn-j, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
• non·fun·gi·ble adjective
• un·fun·gi·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fungible¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from Medieval Latin fungibilis, equivalent to Latin fung(ī) “to perform, discharge, execute” + -ibilis -ible

Word History and Origins

Origin of fungible¹

C18: from Medieval Latin fungibilis , from Latin fungī to perform; see function

Example Sentences

He posts videos mainly about the cryptocurrency market and non-fungible tokens and boasts about a quarter of a million followers.

From Ozy

In the early summer months of 2021, publishers like Bleacher Report, The New York Times, Time and Quartz, among many others, minted their first-ever non-fungible tokens.

From Digiday

To the uninitiated, it is far from obvious why a company like Coca-Cola might be interested in auctioning off themed non-fungible tokens.

From Digiday

Despite the cynics, non-fungible tokens are still going strong after the surge in attention they got in March.

From Digiday

Creators are increasingly putting up their products as non-fungible tokens, unique digital assets that cannot be replicated or stolen because they’re recorded on Ethereum’s blockchain ledger.

From Ozy

Words are tools in an information war and facts are fungible.

From The Daily Beast

In the shower, I sing the phrase “fungible commodities” far too often.

From The Daily Beast

And they're to some extent fungible, but this amounts exactly to "kicking the can down the road."

From The Daily Beast

So while expectations are optimistic, any dates, at least for the time being, should be fungible and are not set in stone.

From The Daily Beast

Then the whole impetus in the newsroom is to say "We have to make it better, if we don't it will become fungible."

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• compatible
• synonymous