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variable star

noun

Definition of variable starnext
as in neutron star

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of variable star This variable star is also located 250 light-years from Earth, but is sadly lost from view in the glare of the sun during the summer months. — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 29 June 2026 Mroz counters, however, that none of those cases are actual microlensing events and instead the mere fluctuations of ordinary variable stars. — Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026 Bradley Schaefer, an astronomer at Louisiana State University, focuses on cataclysmic variable stars, objects that vary in brightness over time due to some type of major turmoil. — Liz Kruesi, Quanta Magazine, 2 Feb. 2026 Many of these alerts will be triggered by variable stars, which cyclically change in brightness. — IEEE Spectrum, 23 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for variable star
Recent Examples of Synonyms for variable star
  1. neutron star
  2. red star
  3. binary star
  4. white dwarf
  5. variable
  6. giant star
Noun
  • Scientists have long suspected there is indeed a pathway for a white dwarf to become a neutron star.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Hubble’s images reveal an intricate web of gas and dust spreading outward from the explosion’s center, where a rapidly spinning neutron star remains.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of neutron star
Noun
  • The Hollywood Historic Trust shared a photo of restoration progress on its social media, showing a blank red star set in an otherwise empty square.
    — Noe Padilla, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Soviet Union was an archetypal fragile superpower, its red star burning bright before its dramatic final implosion.
    — Ben Bland, semafor.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of red star
Noun
  • The twinkling point of light to the moon's upper left is the binary star system Alpha Virginis, also known as Spica, which shines as the brightest point in the constellation Virgo.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The study has major implications for studying binary star systems as well.
    — Damien Pine, Scientific American, 21 July 2026
Definition of binary star
Noun
  • However, some stars collapse to form a white dwarf composed of oxygen, neon and magnesium.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The white dwarf emits radiation and produces a giant gas bubble—the lion’s face—that destroys dust in its path.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of white dwarf
Noun
  • When an upper bound on a variable equals a lower bound on the same variable, no doubt remains about its true value.
    — Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
  • That development is the variable that will push and pull the USMNT pool in different directions.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of variable
Noun
  • These small stars also burn cooler and slower than our Sun (let alone a giant star), which means that intelligent, technology-using life has more time to potentially evolve and start sending out radio messages.
    — Kiona N. Smith, Forbes.com, 20 Mar. 2026
  • However, in the nearby Andromeda galaxy, a giant star seems to have taken a very different path.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 15 Feb. 2026
Definition of giant star

Browse Nearby Words

variables
variable star
variable stars
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Cite this Entry

“Variable star.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/variable%20star. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on variable star

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about variable star

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