variability

American  

[vair-ee-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌvɛər i əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

1. the quality of being subject to change, especially frequent, random, or short-term change: Ensuring effective cooperation in home care is difficult because of the variability of schedules and tasks of both patients and caregivers.

   On a longer time scale, climate variability translates into shortages of food and water worldwide.

   Ensuring effective cooperation in home care is difficult because of the variability of schedules and tasks of both patients and caregivers.

2. the quality of including different kinds, or of being different from one case to the other; diversity.

   Healthcare administrators noted the variability among nursing education programs and called for standardization.

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Other Word Forms

• hypervariability noun
• nonvariability noun

Etymology

Origin of variability

variable ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

Cost of living is often hard to measure given the variability in how households choose to spend their money, Reid said.

From Los Angeles Times

But experts have previously raised concerns that sunscreen - and testing methods - both have a degree of variability and the current rating system does not allow for that.

From BBC

"But to truly unlock its potential, we need to better understand the right doses, long-term safety, and interindividual variability in response to NAD+ augmentation strategies."

From Science Daily

FSE has called on Fifa to abandon dynamic pricing - variability based on demand - and freeze prices for the April release of tickets.

From BBC

Oracle screens with exceptional investment quality and profitability, supported by strong analyst sentiment and high variability rank.

From Barron's

Related Words

• anxiety
• fluctuation
• insecurity
• uncertainty
• volatility
• vulnerability
• weakness