Va·ri·a·ble a.
1. Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of alternation in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity.
2. Liable to vary; too susceptible of change; mutable; fickle; unsteady; inconstant; as, the affections of men are variable; passions are variable.
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. --Shak.
His heart, I know, how variable and vain! --Milton.
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.
Syn: -- Changeable; mutable; fickle; wavering; unsteady; versatile; inconstant.
variable quantity
n : a quantity that can assume any of a set of values [syn: variable]