variable

adj

1. Able to vary or be varied.

   “variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity; a variable resistor”

2. Likely to vary.

   “Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.”

3. Marked by diversity or difference.
4. Having no fixed quantitative value.
5. Tending to deviate from a normal or recognized type.

noun

1. Something that is variable.
2. Something whose value may be dictated or discovered.

   “There are several variables to consider here.”

   “Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.”

3. A quantity that may assume any one of a set of values.
4. A symbol representing a variable.
5. A named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them.
6. A variable star.
7. A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.
8. (in-plural)Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts.