mutable

adjective mu·ta·ble \ ˈmyü-tə-bəl \

Definition of mutable

1 :prone to change :inconstant

mutable opinions

2 a :capable of change or of being changed

mutable laws

b :capable of or liable to mutation

mutable vowels

a mutable gene

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mutability

play \ˌmyü-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

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mutably

play \ˈmyü-tə-blē\ adverb

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Examples of mutable in a Sentence

the government's mutable economic policies
a politician with very mutable positions on all the issues

Recent Examples of mutable from the Web

For Sheridan, the mutable idea of heroism rests between responsibility and empathy.

— mary kaye schilling, Newsweek, "Taylor Sheridan's 'Wind River' is a Blistering Expose of Violence Against Native American Women," 28 July 2017
The precedent is set: Fundamental civic freedoms are mutable in the context of the university.

— noah daponte-smith, National Review, "Harvard Aims to Restrict the Freedom of Association," 14 July 2017
And, as his title suggests, Finch is focused squarely on this famed stretch of Massachusetts shore in all its stormy, mutable, awe-inspiring power.

— fen montaigne, New York Times, "A Half-Century of Walking Cape Cod’s Beaches," 2 June 2017
The problems start when people begin to think of mutable landforms as permanent property.

— david owen, The New Yorker, "The World Is Running Out of Sand," 29 May 2017
While flags can be lowered, songs censored, mascots switched and schools renamed, monuments are the most tangible and least mutable memorial symbols.

— rick hampson, USA TODAY, "Confederate monuments, flash points after the 2015 church shootings, aren't going away," 22 May 2017
The self, so various and truthfully mutable in Kraus’s book, isn’t that way onscreen.

— alexandra schwartz, The New Yorker, "A Deflated Adaptation of the Singular Cult Novel “I Love Dick”," 15 May 2017
Reshaping and retelling those stories to account for our mutable ideas is critically important.

— chuck plunkett, The Denver Post, "Advice to young writers: On story-telling, truth-telling and Hell on Earth," 28 Apr. 2017
But how does this reasoning hold true if Claire still believes history is mutable?

— angelica jade bastiÉn, New York Times, "‘Outlander’ Season 2, Episode 12: Deal With the Devil," 25 June 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mutable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of mutable

Middle English, from Latin mutabilis, from mutare to change; akin to Old English mīthan to conceal, Sanskrit mināti he exchanges, deceives

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First Known Use: 14th century

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mutable Synonyms

Other Genetics Terms

chimera, hermaphrodite, plasticity

MUTABLE Defined for English Language Learners

mutable

adjective

Definition of mutable for English Language Learners

: able or likely to change often

Medical Dictionary

mutable

adjective mu·ta·ble \ ˈmyüt-ə-bəl \

medical Definition of mutable

1 :capable of change or of being changed in form, quality, or nature

2 :capable of or liable to mutation

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