Variable

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Variable \Va"ri*a*ble\, n.
     1. That which is variable; that which varies, or is subject
        to change.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Math.) 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 x^{2} - y^{2} = R^{2}, x and y are variables.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Naut.)
        (a) A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.
        (b) pl. Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not
            expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind
            belts.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     {Independent variable} (Math.), 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 x^{2} - y^{2} = R^{2}, 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. Cf. {Dependent variable}, under
        {Dependent}.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Variable \Va"ri*a*ble\, a. [L. variabilis: cf. F. variable.]
     1. Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of
        alternation in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds
        or seasons; a variable quantity.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Liable to vary; too susceptible of change; mutable;
        fickle; unsteady; inconstant; as, the affections of men
        are variable; passions are variable.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              His heart, I know, how variable and vain! --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Variable exhaust} (Steam Eng.), a blast pipe with an
        adjustable opening.
  
     {Variable quantity} (Math.), 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} (Astron.), fixed stars which vary in their
        brightness, usually in more or less uniform periods.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Changeable; mutable; fickle; wavering; unsteady;
          versatile; inconstant.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  variable
       adj 1: liable to or capable of change; "rainfall in the tropics is
              notoriously variable"; "variable winds"; "variable
              expenses" [ant: {invariable}]
       2: marked by diversity or difference; "the varying angles of
          roof slope"; "nature is infinitely variable" [syn: {varying}]
       3: (used of a device) designed so that a property (as e.g.
          light) can be varied; "a variable capacitor"; "variable
          filters in front of the mercury xenon lights"
       n 1: something that is likely to vary; something that is subject
            to variation; "the weather is one variable to be
            considered"
       2: a quantity that can assume any of a set of values [syn: {variable
          quantity}]
       3: a star that varies noticeably in brightness [syn: {variable
          star}]
       4: a symbol (like x or y) that is used in mathematical or
          logical expressions to represent a variable quantity

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  181 Moby Thesaurus words for "variable":
     able to adapt, adaptable, adjustable, adrift, afloat, agnostic,
     alterable, alterative, alternating, ambiguous, amorphous, broken,
     capricious, careening, catchy, chancy, changeable, changeful,
     changing, checkered, choppy, desultory, deviable, deviating,
     deviative, deviatory, dicey, different, disconnected,
     discontinuous, disorderly, divaricate, divergent, diversified,
     diversiform, dizzy, doubting, eccentric, equivocal, erose, erratic,
     ever-changing, fast and loose, fickle, fitful, flexible,
     flickering, flighty, flitting, fluctuating, fluid, freakish, giddy,
     guttering, halting, herky-jerky, hesitant, hesitating, heteroclite,
     immethodical, impermanent, impetuous, impulsive, incalculable,
     inconsistent, inconstant, indecisive, indemonstrable, infirm,
     intermittent, intermitting, irregular, irresolute, irresponsible,
     jagged, jerky, kaleidoscopic, lurching, malleable, many-sided,
     mazy, mercurial, metamorphic, mobile, modifiable, moody, motley,
     movable, mutable, nonconformist, nonstandard, nonuniform, patchy,
     permutable, plastic, pluralistic, polysemous, protean, proteiform,
     ragged, rambling, resilient, restless, rough, roving, rubbery,
     scatterbrained, scrappy, shapeless, shifting, shifty, shuffling,
     skeptical, slippery, snatchy, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic,
     spastic, spineless, sporadic, spotty, staggering, supple,
     temperamental, ticklish, touch-and-go, transient, transitory,
     uncertain, unconfirmable, uncontrolled, unconvinced, undependable,
     undisciplined, undivinable, unequable, unequal, uneven, unfixed,
     unforeseeable, unmethodical, unmetrical, unorthodox, unpersuaded,
     unpredictable, unprovable, unregular, unreliable, unrestrained,
     unrhythmical, unsettled, unstable, unstable as water, unstaid,
     unsteadfast, unsteady, unsure, unsystematic, ununiform,
     unverifiable, vacillating, vagrant, variegated, variform, various,
     varying, veering, vicissitudinary, vicissitudinous, volatile,
     wandering, wanton, wavering, wavery, wavy, wayward, whimsical,
     wishy-washy, wobbling, wobbly