Versatile

3 definitions found

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

  Versatile \Ver"sa*tile\, a. [L. versatilis, fr. versare to turn
     around, v. freq. of vertere: cf. F. versatile. See {Verse}.]
     1. Capable of being turned round. --Harte.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Liable to be turned in opinion; changeable; variable;


        unsteady; inconstant; as, a versatile disposition.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Turning with ease from one thing to another; readily
        applied to a new task, or to various subjects; many-sided;
        as, versatile genius; a versatile politician.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Conspicuous among the youths of high promise . . .
              was the quick and versatile [Charles] Montagu.
                                                    --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Nat. Hist.) Capable of turning; freely movable; as, a
        versatile anther, which is fixed at one point to the
        filament, and hence is very easily turned around; a
        versatile toe of a bird.
        [1913 Webster] -- {Ver"sa*tile*ly}, adv. -- --
        {Ver"sa*tile*ness}, n.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  versatile
       adj 1: (used of persons) having many skills
       2: having great diversity or variety; "his various achievements
          are impressive"; "his vast and versatile erudition" [syn:
          {various}]
       3: changeable or inconstant; "versatile moods"
       4: competent in many areas and able to turn with ease from one
          thing to another; "a versatile writer"
       5: able to move freely in all directions; "an owl's versatile
          toe can move backward and forward"; "an insect's versatile
          antennae can move up and down or laterally"; "a versatile
          anther of a flower moves freely in the wind"

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

  60 Moby Thesaurus words for "versatile":
     able, accessible, accomplished, adaptable, adjustable, adroit,
     all-around, ambidextrous, amphibious, at hand, available,
     changeable, changing, convenient, conversant, coquettish,
     dexterous, elastic, facile, faddish, fickle, flexible, flighty,
     flirtatious, fluctuating, generally capable, gifted, handy,
     inconstant, light, many-sided, mercurial, mobile, multifaceted,
     of all work, on call, on deck, on hand, on tap, plastic, pliable,
     protean, quicksilver, ready, resourceful, skilled, skillful,
     skittish, supple, talented, to hand, toying, two-handed,
     undependable, unpredictable, unreliable, vacillating, variable,
     volatile, well-rounded