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variables

 - 7 dictionary results

var⋅i⋅a⋅ble

  [vair-ee-uh-buhl]
Use variables in a Sentence
–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.
–noun
9. something that may or does vary; a variable feature or factor.
10. Mathematics, Computers.
a. a quantity or function that may assume any given value or set of values.
b. a symbol that represents this.
11. Logic. (in the functional calculus) a symbol for an unspecified member of a class of things or statements. Compare bound variable, free variable.
12. Astronomy. variable star.
13. Meteorology.
a. a shifting wind, esp. as distinguished from a trade wind.
b. variables, doldrums (def. 2a).
Origin:
1350–1400; late ME < L variābilis, equiv. to vari(us) various + -ābilis -able

Related forms:
var⋅i⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, var⋅i⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun
var⋅i⋅a⋅bly, adverb

Synonyms:
3. vacillating, wavering, fluctuating, unsteady, mercurial.

Antonyms:
1, 3. constant.

variable star

 
–noun Astronomy.
a star that varies markedly in brightness from time to time.
Also called variable.

Origin:
1780–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To variables
var·i·a·ble   (vâr'ē-ə-bəl, vār'-)   
adj.  

    1. Likely to change or vary; subject to variation; changeable.

    2. Inconstant; fickle.

  2. Biology Tending to deviate, as from a normal or recognized type; aberrant.

  3. Mathematics Having no fixed quantitative value.

n.  

  1. Something that varies or is prone to variation.

  2. Astronomy A variable star.

  3. Mathematics

    1. A quantity capable of assuming any of a set of values.

    2. A symbol representing such a quantity. For example, in the expression a2 + b2 = c2, a, b, and c are variables.

var'i·a·ble·ness n., var'i·a·bly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

variable  (adj.)
1387, of persons, from O.Fr. variable, from L. variabilis "changeable," from variare "to change" (see vary). Of weather, seasons, etc., attested from c.1480; of stars, from 1788. The noun meaning "quantity that can vary in value" first recorded 1816, from the adj.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

variable

Something, such as stock prices, earnings, dividend payments, interest rates, and gross domestic product, that has no fixed quantitative value. See also dependent variable, independent variable.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2variable
Function: noun
: something that is variable
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

variable var·i·a·ble (vâr'ē-ə-bəl, vār'-)
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.

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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