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Indicator vs Variable - What's the difference?

indicator | variable |

As a proper noun indicator

is .

As a noun variable is

variable.

indicator

Noun

(en noun)
  • A pointer or index that indicates something.
  • A meter or gauge.
  • The needle or dial on such a meter.
  • (chemistry) Any of many substances, such as litmus, used to indicate the concentration of a substance, or the degree of a reaction.
  • (ecology) A plant or animal whose presence is indicative of some specific environment.
  • (economics) A measure, such as unemployment rate, which can be used to predict economic trends.
  • (UK, Australia) A trafficator.
  • A bird, the honeyguide.
  • Synonyms

    * blinker (informal), directional, directional signal, trafficator, turn indicator, turn signal (US)

    Derived terms

    * economic indicator * key performance indicator

    variable

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Able to vary.
  • variable''' winds or seasons; a '''variable quantity
  • Likely to vary.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Lest that thy love prove likewise variable .
  • Marked by diversity or difference.
  • (mathematics) Having no fixed quantitative value.
  • (biology) Tending to deviate from a normal or recognized type.
  • Synonyms

    * (able to vary) alterable, flexible, changeable, mutable * (likely to vary) fickle, fluctuating, inconstant, shifting, unstable, unsteady * (marked by diversity or difference) varying * aberrant

    Antonyms

    * (able to vary) constant, invariable, immutable, unalterable, unchangeable * (likely to vary) constant, invariable, immutable, unchangeable * (marked by diversity or difference) unchanging * constant, invariable

    Derived terms

    * variability * variableness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something that is .
  • Something whose value may be dictated or discovered.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katie L. Burke
  • , title= In the News , volume=101, issue=3, page=193, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=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.}}
  • (mathematics) A quantity that may assume any one of a set of values.
  • (mathematics) A symbol representing a variable.
  • (programming) A named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them.
  • (astronomy) A variable star.
  • (nautical) A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.
  • (nautical, in the plural) Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts.
  • Synonyms

    * (something that is variable) changeable * (something whose value may be dictated or discovered) parameter * variable quantity

    Antonyms

    * (something that is variable) constant, invariable

    Hyponyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * bound variable * categorical variable * continuous variable * dependent variable * discrete variable * flow variable * free variable * global variable * independent variable * instance variable * interval variable * local variable * member variable * metasyntactic variable * nominal variable * ordinal variable * ratio variable * stock variable * variable star * variably * vary

    See also

    * argument * variate