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Interchangeable vs Compatible - What's the difference?

interchangeable | compatible |

As adjectives the difference between interchangeable and compatible

is that interchangeable is freely substitutable. May be swapped at will while compatible is capable of easy interaction.

As a noun compatible is

something that is compatible with something else.

interchangeable

English

Adjective

(-)
  • Freely substitutable. May be swapped at will.
  • Eli Whitney's development of interchangeable parts was a breakthrough for modern manufacturing. Prior to that each part had to be made custom.
  • * 2014 , Ian Jack, " Is this the end of Britishness", The Guardian , 16 September 2014:
  • The English, until relatively recently, seem to have imagined “English” and “British” to be interchangeable , as if Britain was just a bigger England.

    Derived terms

    * interchangeably

    compatible

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Capable of easy interaction.
  • Able to get along well.
  • Consistent; congruous.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
  • , chapter=1 citation , passage=She was like a Beardsley Salome , he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.}}

    Antonyms

    * incompatible

    Derived terms

    * compatibility

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something that is compatible with something else.
  • a computer company that sells IBM compatibles