variant

American  

[vair-ee-uhnt] / ˈvɛər i ənt /

adjective

1. tending to change or alter; exhibiting variety or diversity; varying.

   variant shades of color.

2. not agreeing or conforming; differing, especially from something of the same general kind.

3. not definitive, as a version of part of a text; different; alternative.

   a variant reading.

4. not universally accepted.

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noun

• variants
  plural

1. a person or thing that varies.

2. a different spelling, pronunciation, or form of the same word.

   “Vehemency” is a variant of “vehemence.”

3. Microbiology, Pathology. a form of a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism that arises from a strain of the microorganism when a mutation changes a small part of the strain’s genetic code.

variant British  

/ ˈvɛərɪənt /

adjective

1. liable to or displaying variation

2. differing from a standard or type

   a variant spelling

3. obsolete not constant; fickle

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noun

1. something that differs from a standard or type

2. statistics another word for variate

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonvariant
  adjective
• unvariant
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• variants
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of variant

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English variaunt(e), variant(e) “undergoing change, tending to change, changeable,” from Old French, from Latin variant-, stem of variāns, present participle of variāre “to mark or adorn with different colors”; cf. various; see -ant

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Explanation

A variant is another version of something. You could say chimps and apes and gorillas are variants in the primate family. Words often have variants, spellings that vary from region to region or country to country. The British colour and the American color are variants. When a movie or TV show is remade or casts a new actor — like with the string of James Bonds — you could call those movies variants. Where there are variants, there is variety — things aren't all the same.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

variant variants

The last known rabid raccoon in Los Angeles County was detected in 1973, when a skunk variant of rabies was still present in the area.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

To see how effective the Topolino is as a runabout in lower-speed U.S. cities, I tested a rope-for-doors variant over several days in my hometown of Ann Arbor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

This exchange created a new strain or variant that then spread between clubbers and caused severe illness.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Manipulating gene expression allowed the researchers to test cause and effect rather than simply observe that a genetic variant happened to occur in AnWj negative people.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

Each variant of fungus was a medicine—a potent cure for anything from itchy paws to gut worms—and apparently Nine had made quite the name for himself selling them to the animals of Fernlight Forest.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Like hands, all amino acids exist as two mirrored variants, but only one of them is found in the proteins in the body's cells.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

It is sold in one color, mint green, and comes in two variants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers could follow individual variants in remarkable detail because genome sequences were usually linked to precise dates.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

The latest Geran “Seeker” variants use object recognition, allowing the drone to recognize targets and lock onto them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

If either factor failed—if reproduction failed to produce variants or if heredity failed to transmit the variations—then nature would be mired in a ditch, the cogwheels of evolution jammed.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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Related Words

• modification
• variation

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