Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MUTABLE & IMMUTABLE
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pronounce
MUTABLE:
Say it "MYOO duh bull."
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pronounce
IMMUTABLE:
Say it "im MYOO duh bull."
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connect these words to others:
Today we're checking out a lovely, poetic pair of words: mutable & immutable. They're basically a formal replacement for the words changeable & unchangeable.
See if you can recall another lovely, formal pair:
Mi___ble things can be combined into a nice blended-up mixture.
And immi____le things can't be mixed: they just don't blend together well.
Now, if you saw the word mutable and figured it meant "able to be muted, able to be silenced," then you're absolutely right.
And people will understand you perfectly if you use the word that way.
But mutable most often means something else: "able to change."
That's because in Latin, mutare means "to change," while the very similar-looking mutus means "silent, or speechless."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definitions:
In Latin, mutare means "to change." It gave us words like "mutate," "mutant," "transmute," and "permutation," along with "mutable," meaning "able to change," and "immutable," "not able to change."
To put that differently:
Mutable things are able to change, likely to change, or often changing.
And immutable things are changeless, not able to change, or always staying the same.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
They're adjectives: "a mutable impression;" "His principles are immutable;" "The laws we thought were immutable turned out to be mutable."
Other forms:
Mutably, immutably;
mutability, immutability.
The verb is "mutate," meaning "to change." The other forms are "mutated" and "mutating."
Something that mutated is a "mutation." Or, if you want to get harsh and judgmental, something or someone that's mutated is a "mutant." Like the X-Men:
how to use them:
These words are formal and sophisticated, but still semi-common.
So when you need a serious tone, you might pick them instead of simpler terms like "changeable/unchangeable," "temporary/permanent," or "flexible/rigid."
You might talk about mutable or immutable laws, rules, ideas, principles, perceptions, styles, traits, characteristics, numbers, limits, etc.
examples:
"Musical styles and structures are mutable and conditional, not neatly mapped genres but costumes to suit a moment and a mood."
— Ross Miller, Kwame Opam, and Bryan Bishop, New York Times, 2 July 2015
"What was the one immutable rule of journalism, I asked [Harold Evans] in 2010? 'Things are not what they seem on the surface. Dig deeper, dig deeper, dig deeper.'"
— Alan Rusbridger, The Guardian, 24 September 2020
has this page helped you understand "mutable" & "immutable"?
study them:
Explain the meanings of "mutable" and "immutable" without saying "change."
try them out:
Here's Scientific American: "Challenging Victorian dogma, Darwin argued that species were not immutable, each one specially created by God."
In other words, while some people believed that species couldn't change--that they were immutable--Darwin pointed out that, in fact, they are mutable, that they do adapt and change.
What's another example of something that people used to consider immutable, but now consider mutable?
It might be something you believed when you were younger, or something that nearly everybody believed in the past.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for November is "SpongeBob Shakespeare."
Check out the goofy quote below. Is it from SpongeBob Squarepants, or is it a modern-English version of a quote from Shakespeare?
I'll list the answer at the bottom of each issue. Enjoy!
Try this one today:
"Don't you have to be stupid somewhere else?"
review these words:
A. ABLE & UNABLE TO BE MIXED.
B. ABLE & UNABLE TO BE ALTERED.
C. ABLE & UNABLE TO BE SILENCED.
2. If you consider what you know about the words "mutable" and "immutable," you'll recognize that when a concept applies mutatis mutandis to a new situation, that it means it applies _____, or more literally, "_____."
A. in name only .. defined by the definition
B. before the practical implications have been identified .. with the unknowns still unknown
C. after the necessary details have been adjusted .. things having been changed that have to be changed
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Today we're checking out a lovely, poetic pair of words: mutable & immutable. They're basically a formal replacement for the words changeable & unchangeable.
In Latin, mutare means "to change." It gave us words like "mutate," "mutant," "transmute," and "permutation," along with "mutable," meaning "able to change," and "immutable," "not able to change."
Part of speech:
These words are formal and sophisticated, but still semi-common.
"Musical styles and structures are mutable and conditional, not neatly mapped genres but costumes to suit a moment and a mood."
Explain the meanings of "mutable" and "immutable" without saying "change."
Here's Scientific American: "Challenging Victorian dogma, Darwin argued that species were not immutable, each one specially created by God."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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