variation
the act, process, or accident of varying in condition, character, or degree: Prices are subject to variation.
an instance of this: There is a variation in the quality of fabrics in this shipment.
amount, rate, extent, or degree of change: a temperature variation of 40° in a particular climate.
a different form of something; variant.
Music.
the transformation of a melody or theme with changes or elaborations in harmony, rhythm, and melody.
a varied form of a melody or theme, especially one of a series of such forms developing the capacities of the subject.
Ballet. a solo dance, especially one forming a section of a pas de deux.
Astronomy. any deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body, especially of a planetary or satellite orbit.
Also called magnetic declination, 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.: Compare deviation (def. 4).
Biology. a difference or deviation in structure or character from others of the same species or group.
Origin of variation
1Other words for variation
Other words from variation
- var·i·a·tion·al, var·i·a·tive [vair-ee-ey-tiv], /ˈvɛər iˌeɪ tɪv/, adjective
- var·i·a·tion·al·ly, var·i·a·tive·ly, adverb
- in·ter·va·ri·a·tion, noun
- non·var·i·a·tion, noun
- o·ver·var·i·a·tion, noun
- pre·var·i·a·tion, noun
- self-var·i·a·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for variation
/ (ˌvɛərɪˈeɪʃən) /
the act, process, condition, or result of changing or varying; diversity
an instance of varying or the amount, rate, or degree of such change
something that differs from a standard or convention
music
a repetition of a musical theme in which the rhythm, harmony, or melody is altered or embellished
(as modifier): variation form
biology
a marked deviation from the typical form or function
a characteristic or an organism showing this deviation
astronomy any change in or deviation from the mean motion or orbit of a planet, satellite, etc, esp a perturbation of the moon
another word for magnetic declination
ballet a solo dance
linguistics any form of morphophonemic change, such as one involved in inflection, conjugation, or vowel mutation
Derived forms of variation
- variational, adjective
- variationally, adverb
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
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