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variance

[vair-ee-uhns]

Example Sentences Origin

noun

the state, quality, or fact of being variable, divergent, different, or anomalous.

an instance of varying; difference; discrepancy.

Also called mean square deviation. Statistics. the square of the standard deviation.

Physics, Chemistry. the number of degrees of freedom of a system.

Law.

a difference or discrepancy, as between two statements or documents in law that should agree.

a departure from the cause of action originally stated in the complaint.

EXPAND

an official permit to do something normally forbidden by regulations, especially by building in a way or for a purpose normally forbidden by a zoning law or a building code.

a disagreement, dispute, or quarrel.

COLLAPSE

Idiom

at variance,

(of things) in a state of difference or disagreement.

(of persons) in a state of controversy or dissension: at variance with one's superiors.

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Variance is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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Origin:
1300–50; Middle English < Latin variantia, equivalent to vari(āre) to vary) + -antia -ance

Related forms

non·var·i·ance, noun

self-var·i·ance, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To variance

Example Sentences

Mitzner said he was considering applying for a variance on that building, too.

But the larger, more important point is that that nonpredictability flows from the large variance in teacher effectiveness.

Beyond that, variance increases dramatically, with extrapolation and factors estimation becoming widely speculative.

EXPAND

Mitzner said he was considering applying for a variance on that building, too.

But the larger, more important point is that that nonpredictability flows from the large variance in teacher effectiveness.

Beyond that, variance increases dramatically, with extrapolation and factors estimation becoming widely speculative.

Long intervals of quiet may be well within the natural variance of such a cycle.

The phenotype consists of the genotype variance plus the environmental variance.

Others submit that granting one such variance would set a dangerous precedent.

Doctoral programs vary and the variance is larger within group than it is between groups.

Risk is determined by the variance in historical data.

Many estimates of the amount of standing redwood have been made, with results widely at variance with one another.

But, since wind energy is reliant on the variance of wind being present, a backup system is required.

The town heard his concerns before voting on a variance the restaurant needed to proceed.

Various online databases show the winrates of top cash game players over sample sizes of millions of hands with little variance.

We're not concerned about the normal variance of weather here, that's always going to be a given.

Variance is a statistical measure of how widely a quality varies in a population.

It is the sun that is causing the variance in the earths temp.

Most likely, though, there won't be enough genetic variance to disallow interbreeding.

Variance after variance is given to developers who cry economic hardship and threaten to sue if they can't do as they please.

Thank you for writing, your words are insightful and a much-needed variance in opinion.

Its variance in time establishes the acceleration or deceleration of universal expansion.

He seemed so widely at variance with the gay surroundings, so little of a.

Perhaps the success of kurtzarbeit depends upon a low variance in the distribution of worker productivity.

And what is the statistical variance in the size of it's shoreline over the period in question.

In this case, landscapes are being transformed, one zoning variance at a time.

Just looking broadly at the data, the above indicators appear to explain much of the variance within the map.

Climate change is due to variance in solar radiation not excess co2.

As you'll see if you look at the spreadsheet, there's a lot of variance in what those numbers could mean.

As far as albedo goes, there is wide variance in solar modules.

Croce, would recommend granting the variance when the three-member commission meets next month.

The idea that character is etched into an individual's face is so much at variance with modern notions of free.

It has been interesting to see the spread of abilities and the variance in the totals.

Michalowski were allowed to continue operating until the variance is decided, others have not been so fortunate.

There is a huge variance in chair stipends or salaries.

Then workers would check the variance from anticipated outcomes and take any corrective action that was necessary.

There was also variance in how corrections were indicated to readers.

These explain a large amount of the variance in overall school performance.

The huge variance in performance between different bits of the public sector that do the same thing is shocking.

The researchers concluded that birth order is a factor that contributes significantly to the variance of adult height among.

It is tough and good in important ways, although its style is oddly romantic and at variance with the laconic material.

Each fish returns to its birthplace, and the diversity of these nurseries is what produces variance within the species.

Kielblock a variance to sell produce that is not grown on the land.

Allen's taste in music is at variance with the program's continuing.

They also note that the variance in average self-reported happiness is often greater within a given year than between years.

Montalbano, said after the meeting that a variance could be granted.

Risk of price variance is then down entirely to site conditions.

Testa filed for a variance that would permit him to build without on-site parking.

Being industry generated research, the tendency was explained away as variance and the test was not repeated.

Consider one example of work rules at variance with reality.

If the work has not been approved, or if it seems to be at variance with what was.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

variance (ˈvɛərɪəns)

—n
1.	the act of varying or the quality, state, or degree of being divergent; discrepancy
2.	an instance of diverging; dissension: our variance on this matter should not affect our friendship
3.	at variance
	a. (often foll by with) (of facts, etc) not in accord; conflicting
	b. (of persons) in a state of dissension
4.	statistics a measure of dispersion obtained by taking the mean of the squared deviations of the observed values from their mean in a frequency distribution
5.	a difference or discrepancy between two steps in a legal proceeding, esp between a statement in a pleading and the evidence given to support it
6.	(in the US and Canada) a licence or authority issued by the board of variance to contravene the usual rule, esp to build contrary to the provision of a zoning code
7.	chem the number of degrees of freedom of a system, used in the phase rule
8.	accounting the difference between actual and standard costs of production

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

variance

mid-14c., "fact of undergoing change," from O.Fr. variance, from L. variantia, from variare "to change" (see vary). Meaning "state of disagreement" is recorded from early 15c. The U.S. zoning sense of "official dispensation from a building regulation" is recorded from 1925.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

variance var·i·ance (vâr'ē-əns, vār'-)
n.

The state or quality of being variant or variable; a variation.
The state or fact of differing or of being in conflict.
The square of the standard deviation.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

variance

in statistics, the square of the standard deviation of a sample or set of data, used procedurally to analyze the factors that may influence the distribution or spread of the data under consideration. See mean.

Learn more about variance with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Matching Quote

"That author who draws a character, even though to common view incongruous in its parts, as the flying-squirrel, and, at different periods, as much at variance with itself as the caterpillar is with the butterfly into which it changes, may yet, in so doing, be not false but faithful to facts."

-Herman Melville

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