variation
Americannoun
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the act, process, or accident of varying in condition, character, or degree.
Prices are subject to variation.
- Synonyms:
- difference, divergence, deviation, modification, alteration, mutation
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an instance of this.
There is a variation in the quality of fabrics in this shipment.
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amount, rate, extent, or degree of change.
a temperature variation of 40° in a particular climate.
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a different form of something; variant.
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Music.
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the transformation of a melody or theme with changes or elaborations in harmony, rhythm, and melody.
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a varied form of a melody or theme, especially one of a series of such forms developing the capacities of the subject.
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Ballet. a solo dance, especially one forming a section of a pas de deux.
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Astronomy. any deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body, especially of a planetary or satellite orbit.
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Also called magnetic declination,. Also called magnetic variation. Navigation. the angle between the geographic and the magnetic meridian at a given point, expressed in plus degrees east or minus degrees west of true north.
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Biology. a difference or deviation in structure or character from others of the same species or group.
noun
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the act, process, condition, or result of changing or varying; diversity
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an instance of varying or the amount, rate, or degree of such change
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something that differs from a standard or convention
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music
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a repetition of a musical theme in which the rhythm, harmony, or melody is altered or embellished
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( as modifier )
variation form
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biology
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a marked deviation from the typical form or function
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a characteristic or an organism showing this deviation
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astronomy any change in or deviation from the mean motion or orbit of a planet, satellite, etc, esp a perturbation of the moon
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another word for magnetic declination
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ballet a solo dance
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linguistics any form of morphophonemic change, such as one involved in inflection, conjugation, or vowel mutation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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intervariationnoun
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nonvariationnoun
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overvariationnoun
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prevariationnoun
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self-variationnoun
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variationaladjective
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variativeadjective
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variationallyadverb
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variativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of variation
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin variātiōn-, stem of variātiō; equivalent to variate + -ion; replacing Middle English variacioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
Variation means a deviation from the norm, like the variation of colors in nature. A variation from an accepted standard can be very important. For example, a variation in a heartbeat pattern can tell a doctor that a heart attack might be imminent. The variation in weather temperatures from what is expected indicates that our climate is changing due to global warming. But not all variation is a bad thing. For example, even within breeds, there is a wide variation in the coloration of dogs, a trait that makes each puppy uniquely lovable.
Vocabulary lists containing variation
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan
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Genetics - Inheritance and Variation of Traits
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If you love a fig-and-goat-cheese pizza, this stuffed date variation is a must-try.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
According to Goldman’s analysis, 70% of the variation in first-half total returns across the major dollar currency pairs was driven by interest rates.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
At William Blyth, however, Nichols believes modernisation could undermine what makes their tiles valuable: their variation, texture and character.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
The African leopard found across most of sub-Saharan Africa shows extraordinary variation in coat colour, body size and skull shape.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
The topic of disagreement is unknown, but likely concerned species formation, variation, and heredity.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
That’s one of the great things about Letterboxd: Everyone uses it differently, and those variations reflect a wide array of tastes in film.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Ashirwad added that broader field surveys could uncover even more variations within the species.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Highs are expected to approach or exceed 30C on most days, with slight day-to-day variations in location and temperature.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
There’s a bug-eyed rabbit, a blue donkey and several variations of what appear to be skulls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
One of the variations of Dad’s power breakfasts.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.