Dictionary
var•i•a•ble
Pronunciation: (vâr'ē-u-bul), [key]—
adj.
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. Biol.deviating from the usual type, as a species or a specific character.
6. Astron.(of a star) changing in brightness.
7. Meteorol.(of wind) tending to change in direction.
8. Math.having the nature or characteristics of a variable.
—
n.
1. something that may or does vary; a variable feature or factor.
2. Math., Computers.
a. a quantity or function that may assume any given value or set of values.
b. a symbol that represents this.
3. Logic.(in the functional calculus) a symbol for an unspecified member of a class of things or statements. Cf.
bound variable, free variable.
4. Astron.See
variable star.
5. Meteorol.
a. a shifting wind, esp. as distinguished from a trade wind.
b. variables,doldrums (def. 2a).
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
