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continuous variation
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noun Biology.
variation in phenotypic traits such as body weight or height in which a series of types are distributed on a continuum rather than grouped into discrete categories.
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Compare discontinuous variation.
Origin of continuous variation
First recorded in 1890–95
Words nearby continuous variation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use continuous variation in a sentence
Scientific definitions for continuous variation
continuous variation
Variation within a population in which a graded series of intermediate phenotypes falls between the extremes. Height in human beings, for example, exists in continuous variation.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.