variation

American  

[vair-ee-ey-shuhn] / ˌvɛər iˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

variations plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• variations
  plural

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

See Examples For:

variation variations

Mr. Jones, a professor of law and biological sciences at Vanderbilt University, explains how the complex and often beautiful products of evolution emerge from the simple fact of variation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

According to Machairaki, this variation raises the possibility that extracellular vesicles from brain organoids could eventually help identify which patients are most likely to benefit from a particular treatment.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

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

Waters, a journalist by profession, had written two books on the variation, both of which he presented to Bobby—eventually, he’d teach the boy the intricacies of the game and become a lifelong friend.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

While popular variations use turkey, roast beef, pastrami and other deli meats, the original version on offer at the 99-year-old Town Hall Delicatessen is still made with ham and beef tongue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Many of these variations were concentrated in genes related to immunity and smell.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

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

Other factors in price variations include the level of local competition and the location of the filling station, which may affect overheads, especially for those in remote areas.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Indeed, Mendel even uses variations of the word inherit in his paper.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

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