different between interchangeable vs changeable

English

Etymology

interchange +? -able

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?nt??t?e?nd??bl?/, [?????t?e?nd??bl?]

Adjective

interchangeable (not comparable)

1. Freely substitutable; that may be swapped at will.

   Eli Whitney's development of interchangeable parts was a breakthrough for modern manufacturing. Prior to that, each part had to be made custom.

   • 2014, Ian Jack, "Is this the end of Britishness", The Guardian, 16 September 2014:

     The English, until relatively recently, seem to have imagined “English” and “British” to be interchangeable, as if Britain was just a bigger England.

   Synonym: equivalent

2. Following each other in alternate succession; alternating.

Derived terms

• interchangeability
• interchangeably

Translations

Noun

interchangeable (plural interchangeables)

1. Anything that can be interchanged; a substitute.

French

Etymology

From interchanger +? -able

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.t??.???.?abl/

Adjective

interchangeable (plural interchangeables)

1. interchangeable, substitutable

Further reading

• “interchangeable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Old French changeable

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t??e?nd???b?l/

Adjective

changeable (comparative more changeable, superlative most changeable)

1. Capable of being changed.
2. Subject to sudden or frequent changes.

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

Synonyms

• (capable of being changed): alterable, modifiable, variable; see also Thesaurus:mutable
• (subject to sudden or frequent changes): fickle, labile, variable; see also Thesaurus:changeable
• (capable of camouflaging): chameleonic

Derived terms

Translations

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???.?abl/

Adjective

changeable (plural changeables)

1. changeable (capable of being changed)

Related terms

• see changer

Further reading

• “changeable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).