variation

American  

[vair-ee-ey-shuhn] / ˌvɛər iˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act, process, or accident of varying in condition, character, or degree.

   Prices are subject to variation.

   Synonyms:

   difference, divergence, deviation, modification, alteration, mutation

2. an instance of this.

   There is a variation in the quality of fabrics in this shipment.

3. amount, rate, extent, or degree of change.

   a temperature variation of 40° in a particular climate.

4. a different form of something; variant.

5. Music.

   1. the transformation of a melody or theme with changes or elaborations in harmony, rhythm, and melody.

   2. a varied form of a melody or theme, especially one of a series of such forms developing the capacities of the subject.

6. Ballet. a solo dance, especially one forming a section of a pas de deux.

7. Astronomy. any deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body, especially of a planetary or satellite orbit.

8. 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.

9. Biology. a difference or deviation in structure or character from others of the same species or group.

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variation British  

/ ˌvɛərɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act, process, condition, or result of changing or varying; diversity

2. an instance of varying or the amount, rate, or degree of such change

3. something that differs from a standard or convention

4. music

   1. a repetition of a musical theme in which the rhythm, harmony, or melody is altered or embellished

   2. ( as modifier )

      variation form

5. biology

   1. a marked deviation from the typical form or function

   2. a characteristic or an organism showing this deviation

6. astronomy any change in or deviation from the mean motion or orbit of a planet, satellite, etc, esp a perturbation of the moon

7. another word for magnetic declination

8. ballet a solo dance

9. linguistics any form of morphophonemic change, such as one involved in inflection, conjugation, or vowel mutation

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Other Word Forms

• intervariation noun
• nonvariation noun
• overvariation noun
• prevariation noun
• self-variation noun
• variational adjective
• variationally adverb
• variative adjective
• variatively adverb

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.

Example Sentences

Then, they compare the variation in the dollar costs of those items from year to year.

From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026

It's a variation of taking it one game at a time.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

The gut microbiome is incredibly complex, containing thousands of bacterial species and even more genetic variation.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026

That’s led to some variation in the estimates.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Ugliness, on the other hand, had infinite variation.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• abnormality
• alteration
• change
• deviation
• discrepancy
• disparity
• divergence
• diversity
• fluctuation
• innovation
• modification
• mutation
• shift
• variety