variance

American  

[vair-ee-uhns] / ˈvɛər i əns /

noun

• variances
  plural

1. the state, quality, or fact of being variable, divergent, different, or anomalous.

2. an instance of varying; difference; discrepancy.

3. Also called mean square deviation.  Statistics. the square of the standard deviation.

4. Physics, Chemistry. the number of degrees of freedom of a system.

5. Law.

   1. a difference or discrepancy, as between two statements or documents in law that should agree.

   2. a departure from the cause of action originally stated in the complaint.

6. an official permit to do something normally forbidden by regulations, especially by building in a way or for a purpose normally forbidden by a zoning law or a building code.

7. a disagreement, dispute, or quarrel.

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idioms

1. at variance,

   1. (of things) in a state of difference or disagreement.

   2. (of persons) in a state of controversy or dissension.

      at variance with one's superiors.

variance British  

/ ˈvɛərɪəns /

noun

1. the act of varying or the quality, state, or degree of being divergent; discrepancy

2. an instance of diverging; dissension

   our variance on this matter should not affect our friendship

3. 1. (often foll by with) (of facts, etc) not in accord; conflicting

   2. (of persons) in a state of dissension

4. statistics a measure of dispersion obtained by taking the mean of the squared deviations of the observed values from their mean in a frequency distribution

5. a difference or discrepancy between two steps in a legal proceeding, esp between a statement in a pleading and the evidence given to support it

6. (in the US and Canada) a licence or authority issued by the board of variance to contravene the usual rule, esp to build contrary to the provision of a zoning code

7. chem the number of degrees of freedom of a system, used in the phase rule

8. accounting the difference between actual and standard costs of production

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonvariance
  noun
• self-variance
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• variances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of variance

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin variantia, from vari(āre) “to vary” ( see vary) + -antia -ance

Explanation

A change to the norm is called a variance. It suggests a difference or shifting away from the expected or usual, an example being snow in July, which is a variance in the weather of the United States, even in Minnesota. When the word variance is used in a comparison, it is usually preceded by the word "at," as in "Her values were at variance with her actions," meaning the two differed. This makes sense, as the word, first seen in Middle English, comes from the Latin verb variāre, which means "to change." If a contractor needs to go outside the standing building code, he needs to obtain a variance, which is legal permission to make a change from the norm.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

variance variances

There was a wide variance in incomes in cities in California with the most growth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

We thought the proposals could have impacts, "but we didn't expect two-thirds of ENSO's variance to disappear," Xing said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 3, 2026

Sir Laurie said the announcement "appears to be at direct variance with your original description of the role".

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

Goodwin is also troubled by what he labels “stale pricing,” as marks on some positions have a wide variance and can be conservative or unreliable.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026

The younger face was at variance with the music of its voice.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

New sensors and live machine data were integrated to create live digital versions of the dough, capturing minute variances in raw materials—like the particle size of the flour.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

“This did not result in any code variances or exemptions being granted.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Sometimes, what might stand out is a song that sounds almost too perfect, lacking minor flaws and variances.

From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025

The model projected a general increase in electricity demand for the country with slight increases in water demand, but strong variances in regional trends persisted.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 7, 2023

If they are empty, there will be foolish variances in your associations.

From Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted, or what's in a dream: a scientific and practical exposition by Gustavus Hindman Miller

Related Words

• deviation
• difference of opinion
• discrepancy
• divergence
• fluctuation