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variable

[vair-ee-uh-buh l]
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adjective
  1. apt or liable to vary or change; changeable: variable weather; variable moods.
  2. capable of being varied or changed; alterable: a variable time limit for completion of a book.
  3. inconstant; fickle: a variable lover.
  4. having much variation or diversity.
  5. Biology. deviating from the usual type, as a species or a specific character.
  6. Astronomy. (of a star) changing in brightness.
  7. Meteorology. (of wind) tending to change in direction.
  8. Mathematics. having the nature or characteristics of a variable.
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noun
  1. something that may or does vary or change; a variable feature or factor.
  2. Mathematics, Computers.
    1. a quantity or function that may assume any given value or set of values.
    2. a symbol that represents this.
  3. Logic. (in the functional calculus) a symbol for an unspecified member of a class of things or statements.Compare bound variable, free variable.
  4. Astronomy. variable star.
  5. Meteorology.
    1. a shifting wind, especially as distinguished from a trade wind.
    2. variables,doldrums(def 2a).
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Origin of variable

1350–1400; late Middle English < Latin variābilis, equivalent to vari(us) various + -ābilis -able
Related formsvar·i·a·bil·i·ty, var·i·a·ble·ness, nounvar·i·a·bly, adverbhy·per·var·i·a·bil·i·ty, nounhy·per·var·i·a·ble, adjectivehy·per·var·i·a·bly, adverbnon·var·i·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·var·i·a·ble, adjectivenon·var·i·a·ble·ness, nounnon·var·i·a·bly, adverbun·var·i·a·ble, adjectiveun·var·i·a·ble·ness, nounun·var·i·a·bly, adverb
Can be confusedboundary limit parameter variable (see synonym study at boundary) (see usage note at parameter)variable variant

Synonyms

See more synonyms for variable on Thesaurus.com
3. vacillating, wavering, fluctuating, unsteady, mercurial.

Antonyms

1, 3. constant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for variably

Historical Examples

  • A number of words have been variably hyphenated in the text.

    The Skylark of Space

    Edward Elmer Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby

  • Greek Gods before they were sculptured would be conceived just as variably.

  • Green, without coppery tints, but variably suffused with purple.

    Bees from British Guiana

    T. D. A. Cockerell

  • The specimens that I have examined from Coahuila are variably intermediate between the subspecies aurifrons and incanescens.

  • The hybrid has a faint dark basicaudal spot that is variably developed in Rhinichthys but absent in Gila.

British Dictionary definitions for variably

variable

adjective
  1. liable to or capable of changevariable weather
  2. (of behaviour, opinions, emotions, etc) lacking constancy; fickle
  3. maths having a range of possible values
  4. (of a species, characteristic, etc) liable to deviate from the established type
  5. (of a wind) varying its direction and intensity
  6. (of an electrical component or device) designed so that a characteristic property, such as resistance, can be variedvariable capacitor
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noun
  1. something that is subject to variation
  2. maths
    1. an expression that can be assigned any of a set of values
    2. a symbol, esp x, y, or z, representing an unspecified member of a class of objects, numbers, etcSee also dependent variable, independent variable
  3. logic a symbol, esp x, y, z, representing any member of a class of entities
  4. computing a named unit of storage that can be changed to any of a set of specified values during execution of a program
  5. astronomy See variable star
  6. a variable wind
  7. (plural) a region where variable winds occur
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Derived Formsvariability or variableness, nounvariably, adverb

Word Origin

C14: from Latin variābilis changeable, from variāre to diversify
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

Word Origin and History for variably

variable

n.

"quantity that can vary in value," 1816, from variable (adj.). Related: Variably; variability.

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variable

adj.

late 14c., of persons, from Old French variable, from Latin variabilis "changeable," from variare "to change" (see vary). Of weather, seasons, etc., attested from late 15c.; of stars, from 1788.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
variably in Medicine

variable

(vâr′ē-ə-bəl, văr′-)
adj.
  1. Likely to change or vary; subject to variation; changeable.
  2. Tending to deviate, as from a normal or recognized type; aberrant.
  3. Having no fixed quantitative value.
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n.
  1. Something that varies or that is prone to variation.
  2. A quantity that is capable of assuming any of a set of values.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
variably in Science

variable

[vâr′ē-ə-bəl]
  1. A mathematical quantity capable of assuming any of a set of values, such as x in the expression 3x + 2.
  2. A factor or condition that is subject to change, especially one that is allowed to change in a scientific experiment to test a hypothesis. See more at control.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.