mutable
- adjective
- /ˈmjuːtəbl/
- Specialized
:
mutable
- The pathogen took so many forms... and was extremely mutable.
Examples
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In some species, the ability to produce mutable offspring is crucial for survival in changing ecosystems.
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But today, the eukaryotic gene is known to be mutable and to possess an extraordinary degree of molecular and functional complexity.
Academic text (1993) -
It is well documented that the extracellular adenosine levels were fairly mutable, according to the type of tissue and the degree of the experienced stress.
Academic text (2018) -
They evade threats and launch counter attacks using their mutable collagenous tissue, or MCT.
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And it was, of course, his work on species and their origin, and his eventual "daring and momentous conviction that species were mutable" (in the words of the editors of volume 2 of the letters) that would make any satisfaction or consolation we might get from nature morally equivocal.
Academic text (1999) -
We assume that the genome of an individual consists of a fixed number L of independently mutable loci labeled by an index set (formula omitted), called the locus set. Generally, each locus could be found in many different states, or alleles.
Academic text (2018) -
Many viruses are mutable, allowing them to adapt quickly to new environments.
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The research showed that certain genes are particularly mutable, which can lead to variations in inherited traits.
Synonyms
8
3.5
Able to become different or not stay the same
1
5.1
Can be changed to fit new needs
1
4.2
Able to be changed
Able to change shape, look or material when conditions change
Able to change into a different form or material
Antonyms
How Mutable
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
mutable = mutate (transparent) = mut + able
In the biological sense the adjective denotes 'capable of undergoing mutation', which directly corresponds to 'mutate' + '-able'.
Etymology
Mutable comes from the Latin verb mutare, which means 'to change'. In biology the same root appears in mutate and mutation, so calling a gene mutable means it is 'likely to change' genetically.