Various definition | Dictionary.com

var⋅i⋅ous

[vair-ee-uh

–adjective

1.	of different kinds, as two or more things; differing one from another: Various experiments have not proved his theory.

2.	marked by or exhibiting variety or diversity: houses of various designs.

3.	presenting or having many different qualities or aspects: a woman of various talent.

4.	having a variety of colors; varicolored.

5.	different from each other; dissimilar.

variant.

7.	numerous; many: living at various hotels.

8.	individual (in a group, class, kind, etc.); separate: permission from various officials in Washington.

–pronoun

9.	Informal. several, many, or numerous ones: I spoke with various of them.

Origin:
1545–55; < L varius speckled, variegated, hence manifold, diverse; see -ous

Related forms:

var⋅i⋅ous⋅ly, adverb

var⋅i⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. Various, different, distinct, diverse describe things that are not identical or alike. Various stresses the multiplicity of sorts or instances of a thing or a class of things: various sorts of seaweed; busy with various duties. Different emphasizes separateness and dissimilarity: two different (or differing) versions of the same story. Distinct implies a uniqueness that is clear and unmistakable: plans similar in objective but distinct in method. Diverse usually suggests a disparity capable of leading to conflict or disagreement: diverse views on how the area should be zoned. 2. sundry. 3. diversified, variegated, varied.

Antonyms:
1. identical, same, uniform, similar.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Various

var·i·ous (vâr'ē-əs, vār'-)

adj.

1. Of diverse kinds: for various reasons.
2. Unlike; different.
Being more than one; several.
Many-sided; versatile: a person of various skills.
Having a variegated nature or appearance.
Being an individual or separate member of a class or group: The various reports all agreed.
Archaic Changeable; variable.

pron. Usage Problem (used with a pl. verb)
Several different people or things.

[From Latin varius.]
var'i·ous·ly adv., var'i·ous·ness n.

Usage Note: The use of various as a pronoun, as in various of the committee members spoke out against the measure, is widely regarded as an error. Eighty-six percent of the Usage Panel finds this sentence unacceptable, a figure not much different from the 91 percent who rejected the various of construction in 1967. The Panel is somewhat more tolerant of the construction when it is used with inanimate objects rather than people. Seventy percent objected to its use in the phrase ownership of the lake and various of its tributaries and effluents. It is not clear why this usage should be regarded as an error, since it is analogous to the use of quantifiers such as few, many, and several.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Various

Va"ri*ous\, a. [L. varius. Cf. Vair.]

1. Different; diverse; several; manifold; as, men of various names; various occupations; various colors.

So many and so various laws are given. --Milton.

A wit as various, gay, grave, sage, or wild. --Byron.

2. Changeable; uncertain; inconstant; variable.

A man so various, that he seemed to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome. --Dryden.

The names of mixed modes . . . are very various. --Locke.

3. Variegated; diversified; not monotonous.

A happy rural seat of various view. --Milton.

Language Translation for : Various

Spanish: vario, diverso,

German: verschiedenartig,

Japanese: 様々な

More Translations »

various

1552, "subject to change," from M.Fr. varieux, from L. varius "changing, different, diverse" (see vary). Meaning "different from one another" is recorded from 1634.

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