variance
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.
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.
Idioms about variance
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.
Origin of variance
1Other words from variance
- non·var·i·ance, noun
- self-var·i·ance, noun
Words Nearby variance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use variance in a sentence
That variance in effectiveness is a reason why you might want to give later instead of giving today.
A reverse image search will also reveal whether a photo has been photoshopped by pulling up all similar images and allowing you to identify suspicious variances.
How to Spot (and Fight) Election Misinformation | by Cynthia Gordy Giwa | October 23, 2020 | ProPublicaThere’s variance in personalities even variance within a breed.
Forget Everything You Know About Your Dog (Ep. 436) | Stephen J. Dubner | October 22, 2020 | FreakonomicsAccording to historians, this scope of variance can be credibly hypothesized from the sheer number of technical terms used in contemporary sources to describe them.
Know Your Historical Warships: From 7th Century BC – 17th Century AD | Dattatreya Mandal | April 4, 2020 | Realm of HistoryUsually, it involves variances that are quite high from the original plan, which means that they are highly subject to judicial challenge.
Why Rent Control Doesn’t Work (Ep. 373 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | March 12, 2020 | Freakonomics
And increased coverage explained 88% of the variance in death rate— an extremely strong correlation.
But we should remember that the economy explains the large majority of the variance in political trust and approval.
You Can Blame the Economy for President Obama's Unpopularity | Jamelle Bouie | November 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut that conceals a great deal of variance in the outcomes: for some people, the expense isnt' worth it at all.
Well, it suggests that college is to some extent a lottery; the averages are concealing a lot of variance.
Higher Education and Earnings: Now With Graphs | Megan McArdle | February 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTSir Richard Lundy went over to Percy, 'saying that he would no longer war in company with men in discord and at variance.'
King Robert the Bruce | A. F. MurisonIt is only when the making of the vow would be at variance with the requirements of duty, that forbearing to vow would be no sin.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John CunninghamIt is, I think, equally obvious that the three days of the romances were not at variance with actual practice.
The Three Days' Tournament | Jessie L. WestonShe was grieved to find Henriette at variance with those who had practical knowledge of education.
The Daughters of Danaus | Mona CairdThe variance in the strength of existing bridges is such as to be apparent to the educated eye without any calculation.
British Dictionary definitions for variance
/ (ˈvɛərɪəns) /
the act of varying or the quality, state, or degree of being divergent; discrepancy
an instance of diverging; dissension: our variance on this matter should not affect our friendship
at variance
(often foll by with) (of facts, etc) not in accord; conflicting
(of persons) in a state of dissension
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
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
(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
chem the number of degrees of freedom of a system, used in the phase rule
accounting the difference between actual and standard costs of production
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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