I. var ‧ i ‧ a ‧ ble 1 AC /ˈveəriəb ə l $ ˈver-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ variable , ↑ variance , ↑ variant , ↑ variety , ↑ variability , ↑ variation ; adjective : ↑ variable ≠ ↑ invariable , ↑ varied , ↑ various ; adverb : ↑ variably ≠ ↑ invariably , ↑ variously ; verb : ↑ vary ]
1 . likely to change often ⇨ vary :
Expect variable cloudiness and fog tomorrow.
Interest rates can be highly variable.
variable in size/shape/colour etc
These fish are highly variable in color and pattern.
2 . sometimes good and sometimes bad:
The quality of pork is often less variable than beef.
3 . able to be changed:
The heater has variable temperature settings.
—variably adverb
—variability /ˌveəriəˈbɪləti, ˌveəriəˈbɪlɪti $ ˌver-/ noun [uncountable]
II. variable 2 AC BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ variable , ↑ variance , ↑ variant , ↑ variety , ↑ variability , ↑ variation ; adjective : ↑ variable ≠ ↑ invariable , ↑ varied , ↑ various ; adverb : ↑ variably ≠ ↑ invariably , ↑ variously ; verb : ↑ vary ]
1 . something that may be different in different situations, so that you cannot be sure what will happen OPP constant :
There are too many variables in the experiment to predict the result accurately.
2 . technical a mathematical quantity which can represent several different amounts OPP constant