Word.ws English Dictionary

pattern variable

pattern variable noun: any of a set of contrasting pairs of characteristics said to be associated with various kinds of social interaction: affectivity – affective neutrality; self-orientation – collectivity-orientation; universalism – particularism; ascription – achievement; and specificity – diffusity.

Noun

pattern variable (plural pattern variables)

  1. Any of a set of contrasting pairs of characteristics said to be associated with various kinds of social interaction: affectivity – affective neutrality; self-orientation – collectivity-orientation; universalism – particularism; ascription – achievement; and specificity – diffusity.

Forms of pattern variable

pluralpattern variables

Origin of pattern variable

Coined by Talcott Parsons (1902–1979), American sociologist.

Questions about pattern variable

What does pattern variable mean?
Pattern variable means any of a set of contrasting pairs of characteristics said to be associated with various kinds of social interaction: affectivity – affective neutrality; self-orientation – collectivity-orientation; universalism – particularism; ascription – achievement; and specificity – diffusity.
What part of speech is pattern variable?
Pattern variable is a noun.
What is the plural of pattern variable?
The plural of pattern variable is pattern variables.

Words near pattern variable in the dictionary

  1. pattern makers
  2. pattern matching
  3. pattern recognition
  4. pattern theory
  5. pattern up
  6. pattern variable
  7. pattern variables
  8. pattern wheel
  9. pattern wheels
  10. pattern word
  11. pattern words

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pattern variable (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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