1
as in adjustable
capable of being readily changed
a variable expense that we could reduce if we needed to
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in volatile
likely to change frequently, suddenly, or unexpectedly
highly variable income from his job as a real estate agent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in variable star
Synonyms & Similar Words
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of variable
Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Oct. 2024
Democrats would actually benefit if overall turnout is lower because this scenario would limit the impact of Trump's more variable voter base.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 21 Oct. 2024
Finally, The Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index (NAI), a comprehensive index composed of 85 national variables, showed up as -0.28 in September, negative now for four months in a row.
—Robert Barone, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for variable 
Adjective
This lawnmower-like machine is made with several helpful features, including variable height adjustment to accommodate multiple users.
—Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Oct. 2024
Democrats would actually benefit if overall turnout is lower because this scenario would limit the impact of Trump's more variable voter base.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
Other variables, like the roughness of the landscape and mountainous terrain, don’t seem to have a significant effect one way or the other.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 21 Oct. 2024
Finally, The Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index (NAI), a comprehensive index composed of 85 national variables, showed up as -0.28 in September, negative now for four months in a row.
—Robert Barone, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for variable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for variable
Adjective
-
Over the past four years, Bitcoin has been extremely volatile, as shown by the 2022 collapse of the crypto giant FTX.Deena Zaidi, Quartz, 13 Nov. 2024
-
By investing in these areas now, businesses are laying the groundwork for long-term success in an increasingly volatile and complex global environment beyond today’s election.Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
Stars that change in brightness, known as variable stars, get brighter and dimmer; supernovas burst into view and then gradually fade away; and thousands of objects too faint to see with the unaided eye, like asteroids, move steadily across the sky.Dan Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2024
-
Using these variable stars, scientists can measure the distances to galaxies up to about 100 million light-years from us.Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 19 Jan. 2024
Adjective
-
Unisex yet adaptable, the Hikelite 26 is now offered with a wider and taller frame for a more inclusive fit.Outside Online, Outside Online, 11 Nov. 2024
-
Researchers were able to conduct CT scans of the fossil, which revealed insights into the arthropod’s adaptable head and appendages.Ashley Strickland, CNN, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
But Bird belongs to Bailey, and to first-timer Adams, who does a winning job of being unpredictable herself, even if the film would be better off delving deeper into one of the relationships in her life rather than dipping into all of them in turn.Alison Willmore, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
-
Combined with worries over increasing predator numbers and unpredictable winters, these circumstances had led managers to cut moose tags by more than 50 percent, the study’s authors explain.Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
Scientists are hoping to study the nova to discover what happens when the material is blasted from the white dwarf and distributed into neighboring galaxies, Boyd said.Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2024
-
Such white dwarf stars are the hot, glowing stellar cores left behind when dying sunlike stars blow off their outer layers.Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
The trial comes alongside a new flexible work bill, giving employees the right to demand a four-day week from their company.Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 5 Nov. 2024
-
Adaptive performance monitoring, with flexible KPIs that can evolve with changing circumstances, is crucial in navigating the nonlinear aspects of the BANI environment.Chris Morris, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
The group calculated that approximately one in three gravitational waves of the right sort (neutron star collisions work best since their mergers last longer than black hole mergers) would make the bar ring with one quantum unit of energy.Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024
-
These systems are made up of the black hole and a secondary object like a star, much denser neutron star, or another black hole.Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Measurements of distances to quasars based on radio-interferometric techniques, for instance, are advancing, and there are prospects for using fluctuations in galaxy-surface brightness.Marc Kamionkowski, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2024
-
Or at least a lot like quasars from more recent periods in the Universe's history.John Timmer, Ars Technica, 17 June 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near variable
Cite this Entry
“Variable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/variable. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share