Alterable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Possible to modify or change in appearance or character
2. Able to undergo modification or adjustment depending on specific conditions
3. Capable of being changed or adjusted in form or nature

Etymology: "Alterable" is a straightforward formation: the verb "alter" with the suffix "-able" attached, meaning "able to be altered." The suffix has a longer pedigree than the verb it attaches to. It traces back through Proto-Italic and Latin forms ending in "-bilis" and "-ābilis", which meant "capable of being" or "fit for" some action, and it passed into English via Old French "-able", which the Middle English spelling "-able" reflects. The base, "alter," came into English from Late Latin "alterare," meaning "to make other," itself built from Latin "alter," "the other of two." So the word's core idea is literally "to make something other than it was," and "alterable" describes anything that can be made other in that way.

Synonyms: modifiable, changeable, variable, adaptable

Antonyms: immutable, fixed, inflexible, unchangeable