mutability
gb/mjˈutəbˈɪlɪti/ us/mjˈutəbˈɪlɪti/
C1
English
Senses
0 senses
Noun
formal
C1
property
1
quality of being changeable
Mutability is how easily something changes.
Usage pattern:
the mutability of [something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse mutability (ability to change) with mobility (ability to move).
Synonyms
changeability (More common and less formal.)
|
variability (Emphasizes differences and range rather than simple change over time.)
|
instability (Often suggests an unwanted or troubling lack of steadiness.)
Antonyms
stability (Focuses on remaining steady or unchanged.)
|
constancy (Emphasizes reliability and staying the same over time.)
|
immutability (The quality of being unchangeable.)
Collocations
the mutability of life
|the mutability of human nature
|the mutability of public opinion
|accept the mutability
|recognize the mutability
|constant mutability
|rapid mutability
|subject to mutability
|emphasize mutability
|a sense of mutability
Themes
academic
|change
|philosophy
Examples
- The essay reflects on the mutability of public opinion in the age of social media.
- Travel taught her to accept the mutability of plans and expectations.
- He found comfort in routines amid the mutability of work and family life.
Learner examples
- Mutability means that something can change.
- I don’t like the mutability of the schedule.
Noun
technical
C2
property
2
ability to change in code
In programming, mutability means you can change an object after you make it.
Usage pattern:
mutability of [data/object] (in [language/system])
Common mistake:
Learners may treat mutability as the same as editability of a file; in programming it specifically means changing an object’s state in memory.
Synonyms
modifiability (A close technical synonym; less standard than mutability in programming discourse.)
|
writability (Sometimes used in technical contexts, especially about whether a value can be written to.)
Antonyms
immutability (An immutable object cannot be changed after creation.)
Collocations
object mutability
|data mutability
|shared mutability
|avoid mutability
|control mutability
|mutability rules
|mutability guarantees
|mutability issues
|mutability vs immutability
|mutability of state
Themes
computing
|programming
|software_engineering
Examples
- In Python, lists have mutability, but tuples do not.
- The team reduced bugs by limiting shared mutability between threads.
- The API documents which fields have mutability and which are read-only.
Learner examples
- This object has mutability, so I can change it.
- Immutability is the opposite of mutability.
Noun
technical
C2
property
3
tendency to mutate biologically
In biology, mutability is how easily something mutates.
Usage pattern:
the mutability of [gene/virus/genome]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse mutability with mutation itself; mutability is the tendency or rate, not a single change.
Synonyms
mutation rate (More specific and measurable; mutability can be broader and less strictly quantified.)
|
tendency to mutate (A plain-language paraphrase rather than a fixed single-word synonym.)
Antonyms
genetic stability (Refers to resisting mutation or maintaining genetic consistency.)
Collocations
viral mutability
|genetic mutability
|high mutability
|low mutability
|the mutability of the virus
|the mutability of the genome
|mutability of DNA
|increased mutability
|mutability and evolution
|mutability rate
Themes
science
|biology
|medicine
Examples
- The mutability of the virus makes it harder to produce a long-lasting vaccine.
- Researchers measured the mutability of different strains under drug pressure.
- High mutability can speed adaptation but also increases harmful errors.
Learner examples
- Some viruses have high mutability.
Grammar
Dictionary form
mutability
IPA
GB/mjˈutəbˈɪlɪti/
US/mjˈutəbˈɪlɪti/
Syllables & stress
mut - ab - il - ity (4 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (mut)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: mutability
- Plural: mutabilities, mutability
Word family
Expressions
interior mutability
1/ɪntˈɪɹiɚ mjˈutəbˈɪlɪti/
fixed phrase
technical
mutating through an immutable handle
Interior mutability is a way to change data even when it looks immutable.
Examples
- The cache uses interior mutability so it can update itself without requiring a mutable reference.
- Rust provides interior mutability types that restrict when and how updates happen.
- They refactored the component to rely on interior mutability instead of widespread mutable state.
shared mutability
1/ʃˈɛɹd mjˈutəbˈɪlɪti/
fixed phrase
technical
shared changeable state in code
Shared mutability is when more than one thing can change the same data.
Examples
- The new design avoids shared mutability by copying data before updating it.
- Shared mutability can make debugging difficult because state changes in many places.
- They introduced locks to manage shared mutability across threads.