versatile
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versatile
- /ˈvɜː.səˌtaɪl/ UK
- [ˈvɜː.səˌtaɪɫ] UK
- /ˈvɝ.sə.təl/ Canada, US
- [ˈvɝ.sə.ɾəl] Canada, US
- /ˈvɝ.səˌtaɪl/ Canada, US
- /ˈvɜː.sə.təl/ Australia
- /ˈvɜː.səˌtɑel/ Australia
- [ˈvɜː.səˌtɑeɫ] Australia
Where it comes from
From Latin versātilis (“turning easily”), from versātus, past participle of versō (“to turn, change”), frequentative of vertō (“to turn”).
adjective more versatile · most versatile
- Capable of doing many things competently. Ruthanna Boris, a versatile dancer and choreographer who was the first American ballerina to be a star of one of the prestigious Ballets Russes troupes of the ’40s, died Friday at her home in El Cerrito, Calif. She was 88.
- Having varied uses or many functions. The paddles were enormously versatile, serving as radio-antenna masts, shovels, ice prods, snow knives, and potential argument settlers—whoever had one in his hand at the time would win.
- Changeable or inconstant.
- Capable of moving freely in all directions. The versatile anther is an important step up in flowering plant evolution and it may be the most widespread of all simple anther types.
- Synonym of vers (“Willing to take either a penetrative or receptive role in anal sex”). Among men who do engage in anal intercourse, about one-quarter are tops, one-quarter are bottoms, and one-half are versatile.
- Being a switch; capable of taking either a dominant or a submissive role.
- Capable of being either a dominant or a submissive partner in a sexual relationship.
