Definition of "dependent variable" [dependent variable]

• Mathematics A mathematical variable whose value is determined by the value assumed by an independent variable. (noun)
• Statistics The observed variable in an experiment or study whose changes are determined by the presence or degree of one or more independent variables. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Marketing diffusion scholars have pioneered in identifying a new dependent variable for their analyses, the amount of time required to reach critical mass for a new product in a nation this variable is called “time-to-take-off”."
• "Innovativeness, the main dependent variable in much past diffusion research, now becomes a predictor of a more ultimate dependent variable, the consequences of innovation."