variation

[ vair-ee-ey-shuhn ]
See synonyms for variation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act, process, or accident of varying in condition, character, or degree: Prices are subject to variation.

  2. an instance of this: There is a variation in the quality of fabrics in this shipment.

  1. amount, rate, extent, or degree of change: a temperature variation of 40° in a particular climate.

  2. a different form of something; variant.

  3. 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.

  4. Ballet. a solo dance, especially one forming a section of a pas de deux.

  5. Astronomy. any deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body, especially of a planetary or satellite orbit.

  6. 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).

  7. Biology. a difference or deviation in structure or character from others of the same species or group.

Origin of variation

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin variātiōn-, stem of variātiō; equivalent to variate + -ion; replacing Middle English variacioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin, as above

Other 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

variation

/ (ˌvɛərɪˈeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act, process, condition, or result of changing or varying; diversity

  2. an instance of varying or the amount, rate, or degree of such change

  1. something that differs from a standard or convention

  2. music

    • a repetition of a musical theme in which the rhythm, harmony, or melody is altered or embellished

    • (as modifier): variation form

  3. biology

    • a marked deviation from the typical form or function

    • a characteristic or an organism showing this deviation

  4. astronomy any change in or deviation from the mean motion or orbit of a planet, satellite, etc, esp a perturbation of the moon

  5. another word for magnetic declination

  6. ballet a solo dance

  7. 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