vary

American  

[vair-ee] / ˈvɛər i /

verb (used with object)

• varies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• varied,
  past participle,  past
• varying
  present participle

1. to change or alter, as in form, appearance, character, or substance.

   to vary one's methods.

   Synonyms:

   mutate, modify

2. to cause to be different from something else.

   The orchestra varied last night's program with one new selection.

3. to avoid or relieve from uniformity or monotony; diversify.

   to vary one's diet.

4. Music. to alter (a melody or theme) by modification or embellishments without changing its identity.

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verb (used without object)

• varies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• varied,
  past participle,  past
• varying
  present participle

1. to show diversity; be different.

   The age at which children are ready to read varies.

2. to undergo change in appearance, form, substance, character, etc..

   The landscape begins to vary as one drives south.

3. to change periodically or in succession; differ or alternate.

   Demand for certain products varies with the season.

4. to diverge; depart; deviate (usually followed byfrom ).

   to vary from the norm.

5. Mathematics. to be subject to change.

6. Biology. to exhibit variation.

vary British  

/ ˈvɛərɪ /

verb

1. to undergo or cause to undergo change, alteration, or modification in appearance, character, form, attribute, etc

2. to be different or cause to be different; be subject to change

3. (tr) to give variety to

4. to differ, as from a convention, standard, etc

5. (intr) to change in accordance with another variable

   her mood varies with the weather

   pressure varies directly with temperature and inversely with volume

6. (tr) music to modify (a theme) by the use of variation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• varier
  noun
• overvary
  verb
• intervary
  verb (used without object)
• self-varying
  adjective
• unvarying
  adjective
• varying
  adjective
• unvaryingly
  adverb
• varyingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• varying
  present
• varied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• vary
  simple
• varies
  simple
• have varied
  perfect
• has varied
  perfect
• am varying
  progressive
• are varying
  progressive
• is varying
  progressive
• have been varying
  perfect progressive
• has been varying
  perfect progressive

Past

• varied
  simple
• had varied
  perfect
• was varying
  progressive
• were varying
  progressive
• had been varying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will vary
  simple
• will have varied
  perfect
• will be varying
  progressive
• will have been varying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of vary

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English varien, from Latin variāre, equivalent to vari(us) ( see various) + -āre infinitive suffix

Explanation

If you're tired of the same old breakfast of bran flakes and orange juice, vary your routine—put some banana slices on those bran flakes. You can vary the routine by changing the details but keeping the basics the same. Use the verb vary when you're talking about changing up your usual routine. If your schedule changes at work, you might have to vary your sleep habits. A good dye job will vary the tints a little to look more natural. The ambiance at Olive Garden varies from restaurant to restaurant, but the unlimited breadsticks are always delicious. You'll probably recognize the root vari, which shows up in other words with similar meanings, like various, variable, and even variegated.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vary varies varied varying

But grip strength can vary considerably depending on someone’s age, sex and body size.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

There’s no consensus on bitcoin and estimates vary dramatically.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

These compounds are often present at very low concentrations, and their chemical structures can vary enormously.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

In interviews, commissioners lauded California’s enforcement system, saying they think it’s important to have discretion when applying regulations because crops, growing seasons and pesticide use vary from county to county.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Books vary widely on their inclusion of cultural information, but some type of description adds tremendously to the value of the book and to the understanding required to evaluate and learn the material.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Of course, real estate remains local and varies often by region and price.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Each of the tattoos varies in style, not unlike the distinct personalities in the book’s fictional MFA cohort.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

What started as a small summer-solstice gathering on San Francisco’s Baker Beach in 1986 now draws typically 70,000 festival-goers, although that number varies each year.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

In other words, they asked whether the effect varies depending on the direction in which it is measured.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

Each panda has its own scent—and that varies by gender and changes with age.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

As a result, rainfall totals have varied dramatically.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

The small survey isn’t representative of Gen Z as a whole, but it offers a snapshot of the varied approaches described in this article:

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

The reactions to Dalporto’s March announcement on TikTok about the project varied, with one commenter suggesting interchangeable necks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Those profiles varied considerably between animals, while remaining comparatively stable when the same cats were sampled on different dates.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

In a clearing spread a vast garden teeming with familiar and exotic plants, the ingredients of all the. varied medicines and liniments favored at court.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Cricket, tennis and softball were all disrupted to varying degrees for a second day in a row.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Long Beach is not yet Amsterdam; it’s still a patchwork of protected lanes and unprotected ones of varying degrees of newness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

But biological data are conditional, inconsistent and of varying quality, and practical data sets cover only a fraction of small-molecule chemical compounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

The new findings suggest engineers might be able to create different or improved behaviors by deliberately varying the shapes, sizes, orientations, and physical properties of those units.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

In the middle of the room was a big loom, strung with varying shades of threads.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Related Words

• alter
• differ
• diverge
• diversify
• divide
• fluctuate
• modify
• range