Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Capable of doing many things competently.
- adj. Having varied uses or serving many functions: "The most versatile of vegetables is the tomato” ( Craig Claiborne).
- adj. Variable or inconstant; changeable: a versatile temperament.
- adj. Biology Capable of moving freely in all directions, as the antenna of an insect, the toe of an owl, or the loosely attached anther of a flower.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In ichthyology, capable of being turned either way: describing a spine, a tooth, or any organ that may not be usually so turned.
- Capable of being moved or turned round: as, a versatile spindle.
- Changeable; variable; unsteady; inconstant.
- Turning with ease from one thing to another; readily applying one's self to a new task, or to various subjects; many-sided: as, a versatile writer; a versatile actor.
- In botany, swinging or turning freely on a support: especially noting an anther fixed by the middle on the apex of the filament, and swinging freely to and fro. See cuts under anther and lily.
- In ornithology, specifically, reversible: noting any toe of a bird which may be turned either forward or backward.
- In entomology, moving freely up and down or laterally: as, versatile antennæ.
Wiktionary
- adj. Capable of doing many things competently.
- adj. Having varied uses or many functions.
- adj. Changeable or inconstant.
- adj. Capable of moving freely in all directions.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Capable of being turned round.
- adj. Liable to be turned in opinion; changeable; variable; unsteady; inconstant.
- adj. Turning with ease from one thing to another; readily applied to a new task, or to various subjects; many-sided.
- adj. Capable of turning; freely movable
WordNet 3.0
- adj. able to move freely in all directions
- adj. having great diversity or variety
- adj. changeable or inconstant
- adj. competent in many areas and able to turn with ease from one thing to another
Etymologies
- Latin versātilis, from versātus, past participle of versāre, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“For daytime, she favors a long, simple gold necklace with a large pendant, which she calls versatile and not too showy.”
“Thus the 18-200 is what I call a versatile lense, it's not a dedicated piece of lens for dedicated or a particular usage though if you'd very much want, you can use it for sports / portraits / wildlife etc.”
“Probably most versatile is full choke, as you can start shooting a long way off, and continue as they climb out of sight.”
What choke do you suggest using for waterfowl hunting with a 12 ga
“Probably the most common and most versatile is a 30-06 with a 3-9x40.”
“The trade would call this "feminine"; I would call it versatile and very, very smooth.”
“So versatile from the Thai Green to a Tortoise Vindaloo served in the shell.”
“Georgia Tech was able to contain versatile N.C. State signal-caller Philip Rivers, who accounted for only 234 yards of offense.”
“The man of genius does not vary and change, which is the meaning of the word versatile, but he has a mind sufficiently expanded to comprehend variety and change.”
“He was known as a versatile athlete with good speed and plenty of athletic ability.”
“Wenger captured the Hermann Trophy as the top player in NCAA soccer, and is known as a versatile defender/midfielder/forward.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘versatile’.
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3/4 year Vocab List
garbled, verbose, behoove, runt, douse, stipulate, condolence, incongruous, mundane, euphemism, brusque, labyrinth and 96 more...
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3/4 year Vocab List
lackluster, reprimand, loathe, abhor, willful, ample, tremulous, ominous, subtle, rescind, redundant, pretentious and 96 more...
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SAT list (now featuring sat, sateen, and satori)
sat, sateen, satori, SAT, Sat, Saturday, satay, compensate, satellite, Satchmo, Erik Satie, Saturn and 66 more...
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Words That Positively Describe Furniture
Trying to say something nice to a chesterfield? Here are some suggestions:
crafted, designer, solid, ephemeral, classic, versatile, comfortable, innovative, sturdy, lightweight, colorfast, graceful and 26 more...
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Vocab #11
ominous, tremulous, repudiate, cessation, bristle, salient, facetious, versatile, labyrinth, brusque
charolastra OED2 (1989) claims it also means "bisexual" (or "both homosexual and heterosexual, as they put it), listing two examples:
1959 C. MACINNES Absolute Beginners 64 No one..cares..if you're boy, or girl, or bent, or versatile, or what you are.
1960 M. SPARK Ballad Peckham Rye iii. 32 Dougal was probably pansy. ‘I don't think so... He's got a girl somewhere.’ ‘Might be versatile.’
If it did indeed mean this, it was apparently short-lived. Sep 10, 2010