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Variable vs Capricious - What's the difference?

variable | capricious | Related terms |

As adjectives the difference between variable and capricious

is that variable is able to vary while capricious is impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim.

As a noun variable

is something that is variable.

variable

English

(wikipedia 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

    External links

    * * * ----

    capricious

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim
    • I almost died in a capricious winter storm.
    Stringent rulers are unlikely to act capriciously .
    The Mayor claimed that the action was reasonable, but in reality the action was arbitrary and capricious in nature.
  • *

    • Usage notes

    * Capricious can describe both a person and the decisions they make.

    Synonyms

    * whimsical * arbitrary

    Antonyms

    * conscientious * rigorous

    Derived terms

    * capriciously

    Related terms

    * caprice