changeable

English

Etymology

From Middle English chaungeable, from Old Northern French chaungeable, from Late Latin cambiāre (“to change”), equivalent to change +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• enPR: chān′jə-bəl, IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃeɪn.d͡ʒə.bəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

changeable (comparative more changeable, superlative most changeable)

1. Capable of being changed.

   Synonyms: alterable, modifiable, variable; see also Thesaurus:mutable

2. Subject to sudden or frequent changes.

   Synonyms: fickle, labile, variable; see also Thesaurus:changeable

   The weather is very changeable today: we've had bright sunshine, clouds, wind and rain in the same half-hour.

   • 2021 October 20, Paul Stephen, “Leisure and Pleasure on the Far North Line”, in RAIL, number 942, page 48:

     There will be no problems with visibility, or the highly changeable Highland weather, as Scotland basks in what is reported to be the country's hottest September day for more than a century.

3. (of a species) Capable of camouflaging itself by changing colour.

   Synonym: chameleonic

Derived terms

• changeability
• changeable hawk-eagle
• changeable lizard
• changeableness
• changeably
• nonchangeable
• unchangeable

Translations

capable of being changed

Bulgarian: променлив (bg) (promenliv) Catalan: canviable (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 可改變的 / 可改变的 (kě gǎibiàn de), 可替換的 / 可替换的 (kě tìhuàn de) Esperanto: ŝanĝebla Finnish: vaihdettava (fi), vaihdettavissa oleva French: changeable (fr) Georgian: ცვალებადი (cvalebadi) German: änderbar (de), veränderlich (de) Greek: Ancient: μετάβολος (metábolos) Hungarian: változtatható (hu) Italian: mutevole (it) Japanese: 変えられる (かえられる, kaerareru) Latin: mūtābilis Middle English: chaungeable Portuguese: mudável (pt), modificável, alterável (pt) Romanian: schimbabil, modificabil (ro) Russian: изменя́емый (ru) (izmenjájemyj) Scots: immis Spanish: cambiable, cambiante (es)

subject to sudden or frequent changes

Bulgarian: непостоянен (bg) (nepostojanen) Chinese: Mandarin: 多變 / 多变 (zh) (duōbiàn), 善變 / 善变 (zh) (shànbiàn) Finnish: vaihteleva (fi) French: changeant (fr) Georgian: ცვალებადი (cvalebadi) German: wechselhaft (de), wandelbar (de) Irish: luaineach Italian: ondivago (it) Japanese: 変わりやすい (かわりやすい, kawariyasui) Maori: taurangi Middle English: chaungeable Portuguese: variável (pt) Romanian: schimbăcios (ro), schimbător (ro), nestatornic (ro) Russian: изме́нчивый (ru) (izménčivyj), переме́нчивый (ru) (pereménčivyj), непостоя́нный (ru) (nepostojánnyj) Slovak: vrtošivý Spanish: variable (es), cambiante (es), tornadizo (es)

capable of camouflaging

Chinese: Mandarin: 變色的 / 变色的 (biànsè de) Finnish: väriään vaihtava French: please add this translation if you can

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɑ̃.ʒabl/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Adjective

changeable (plural changeables)

1. changeable (capable of being changed)

Related terms

• see changer

Further reading

• “changeable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Adjective

changeable

1. alternative form of chaungeable