variant

[vair-ee-uh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR variant ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

tending to change or alter; exhibiting variety or diversity; varying: variant shades of color.

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

not definitive, as a version of part of a text; different; alternative: a variant reading.

not universally accepted.

noun

a person or thing that varies.

a different spelling, pronunciation, or form of the same word: “Vehemency” is a variant of “vehemence.”

Origin of variant

1325–75; Middle English < Latin variant-, stem of variāns, present participle of variāre to vary; see -ant

Related formsnon·var·i·ant, adjective, nounun·var·i·ant, adjective

Can be confusedvariable variant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for variant

Contemporary Examples of variant

All of these will end with some variant of the following: Ms. Pembreteaux laughed, then shrugged.
Let’s Lay Out the Odds on Your Crazy Summer
Kelly Williams Brown
May 25, 2014
If these books are indeed Great American Novels—a distinct category, a variant of excellence—they are generally big in every way.
C.E. Morgan: ‘Light in August’ is Faulkner’s Great American Novel
C.E. Morgan
August 16, 2012
The variant of malaria prevalent in Northern malarial zones like the Po Valley was enfeebling, but not lethal.
David's Book Club: The Conquest of Malaria
David Frum
July 31, 2012
These were the expensive Austrian variant: the sleek silver-and-blue cans that cost roughly $1.50 each.
In Afghanistan, a Boom in Red Bull
Mujib Mashal
May 19, 2012
The Dutch variant appeared in 2010 on the VPRO website – a self-described liberal-Protestant network.
Dutch Board Game Lets You Settle Canaan
Peter Beinart
March 15, 2012

Historical Examples of variant

A Prime can be negated, while on the other hand a variant can shift from possible to Logical to Prime.
We're Friends, Now
Henry Hasse
The Italian and German techniques were often pursued in variant styles.
John Baptist Jackson
Jacob Kainen
But fortune is so variant, and the wheel so movable, there is no constant abiding.
Stories of King Arthur and His Knights
U. Waldo Cutler
In the variant of the story in No. 38, the comrades are the hero Martin, a smith, and a tailor.
Russian Fairy Tales
W. R. S. Ralston
The variant spellings of Bulloign, Bulloigne and Bullogne have been retained.
Early Theories of Translation
Flora Ross Amos

British Dictionary definitions for variant

variant

adjective

liable to or displaying variation

differing from a standard or typea variant spelling

obsolete not constant; fickle

noun

something that differs from a standard or type

statistics another word for variate (def. 1)

Word Origin for variant

C14: via Old French from Latin variāns, from variāre to diversify, from varius various

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for variant

adj.

late 14c., from Old French variant, from Latin variantem (nominative varians), present participle of variare "to change" (see vary).

1848, from variant (adj.).

Medicine definitions for variant

variant

[vâr′ē-ənt, văr′-]

adj.

Having or exhibiting variation; differing.

Tending or liable to vary; variable.

Deviating from a standard, usually by only a slight difference.

n.

Something that differs in form only slightly from something else.

variant

adjective

noun

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Origin of variant

Examples from the Web for variant

Contemporary Examples of variant

Historical Examples of variant

variant

adjective

noun

Word Origin for variant

variant

adj.

n.