mutable

[ myoo-tuh-buhl ]

/ ˈmyu tə bəl /

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See synonyms for: mutable / mutability on Thesaurus.com

adjective

liable or subject to change or alteration.

given to changing; constantly changing; fickle or inconstant: the mutable ways of fortune.

Computers. (in object-oriented programming) of or noting an object having properties whose values can change while the object itself maintains a unique identity.

OTHER WORDS FOR mutable

1 changeable, variable.

2 unstable, vacillating, unsettled, wavering, unsteady.

See synonyms for mutable on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR mutable

2 stable.

See antonyms for mutable on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

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Origin of mutable

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin mūtābilis, equivalent to mūtā(re) “to change” + -bilis -ble

OTHER WORDS FROM mutable

mu·ta·bil·i·ty

[myoo-tuh-bil-i-tee] /ˌmyu təˈbɪl ɪ ti/ mu·ta·ble·ness, nounmu·ta·bly, adverbhy·per·mu·ta·ble, adjectivehy·per·mu·ta·bly, adverb

non·mut·a·ble, adjectivenon·mut·a·bly, adverbun·mu·ta·ble, adjective

Words nearby mutable

must-read, must-see, musty, mut, mutability, mutable, mutable sign, mutacism, mutagen, mutagenesis, mutagenic

How to use mutable in a sentence

After just two episodes, it’s hard to get a sense of how mutable The Problem’s format will be.
The Problem With Jon Stewart Could Be Great, If It Ever Catches Up to the Present|Judy Berman|September 30, 2021|Time
Warnecke, however, is skeptical about inferring phylogenetic relationships from viral sequences, which are notoriously mutable.
DNA’s Histone Spools Hint at How Complex Cells Evolved|Viviane Callier|May 10, 2021|Quanta Magazine
I knew vaguely that the history was slow and unremarkable during centuries of rural village life, then tumultuous and mutable as the area was enveloped by the burgeoning city.
In London, looking backward to move forward|Henry Wismayer|March 5, 2021|Washington Post
In McAfee’s work, formal portraits become as mutable and dynamic as makeshift cellphone footage.
In the galleries: Personal and political perspectives on the past|Mark Jenkins|February 19, 2021|Washington Post

Vortices can be remarkably stable, and yet they are also surprisingly mutable.
An Unexpected Twist Lights Up the Secrets of Turbulence|David H. Freedman|September 3, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The mutable-Earth sign of Virgo is about negotiating virtue and vice.
Your Week: What the Stars Hold|Starsky + Cox|September 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The comic Flip Wilson used to use “The devil made me do it” as an endlessly mutable punch line.
The Grim Truth About Africa|Stanley Crouch|April 21, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Yet however sweet the hours, they pass away, and it is not much memory can save from the mutable, happy days of love.
The Man Between|Amelia E. Barr
One goes to the marriage bed, another to the grave; and all is mutable, uncertain, and transitory.
The Portland Sketch Book|Various
His face was irradiated, his cold eyes glowed with a warmth and fire that more mercurial and mutable natures can never know.
The Beauty|Mrs. Wilson Woodrow
Something whispered that the happiness we at present enjoyed was set on mutable foundations.
Wieland; or The Transformation|Charles Brockden Brown
As to the motives which induce men to change the place of their abode, these must unavoidably be fleeting and mutable.
Wieland; or The Transformation|Charles Brockden Brown

British Dictionary definitions for mutable

mutable

/ (ˈmjuːtəbəl) /

adjective

able to or tending to change

astrology of or relating to four of the signs of the zodiac, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, which are associated with the quality of adaptabilityCompare cardinal (def. 9), fixed (def. 10)

Derived forms of mutable

mutability or rare mutableness, nounmutably, adverb

Word Origin for mutable

C14: from Latin mūtābilis fickle, from mūtāre to change

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

mutable

OTHER WORDS FOR mutable

OPPOSITES FOR mutable

Origin of mutable

OTHER WORDS FROM mutable

Words nearby mutable

Words related to mutable

How to use mutable in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mutable

Derived forms of mutable

Word Origin for mutable