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variant - 8 dictionary results

var⋅i⋅ant

  [vair-ee-uhnt]
Use variant in a Sentence
–adjective
1. tending to change or alter; exhibiting variety or diversity; varying: variant shades of color.
2. not agreeing or conforming; differing, esp. from something of the same general kind.
3. not definitive, as a version of part of a text; different; alternative: a variant reading.
4. not universally accepted.
–noun
5. a person or thing that varies.
6. a different spelling, pronunciation, or form of the same word: “Vehemency” is a variant of “vehemence.”
Origin:
1325–75; ME < L variant-, s. of variāns, prp. of variāre to vary; see -ant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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var·i·ant   (vâr'ē-ənt, vār'-)   
adj.  
  1. Having or exhibiting variation; differing.
  2. Tending or liable to vary; variable.
  3. Deviating from a standard, usually by only a slight difference.
n.  Something that differs in form only slightly from something else, as a different spelling or pronunciation of the same word.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin variāns, variant-, present participle of variāre, to vary; see vary.]
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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Variant

Va"ri*ant\, a. [L. varians, p. pr. of variare to change: cf. F. variant. See Vary.]

1. Varying in from, character, or the like; variable; different; diverse.

2. Changeable; changing; fickle. [Obs.]

He is variant, he abit [abides] nowhere. --Chaucer.

Variant

Va"ri*ant\, n. [Cf. F. variante.] Something which differs in form from another thing, though really the same; as, a variant from a type in natural history; a variant of a story or a word.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : variant
Spanish: variedad,
German: die Spielart,
Japanese: 種類
More Translations »

variant  (adj.)
c.1380, from O.Fr. variant, from L. variantem (nom. varians), prp. of variare "to change" (see vary). The noun is first attested 1848.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1var·i·ant
Pronunciation: 'ver-E-&nt, 'var-
Function: adjective
: manifesting variety or deviation : exhibiting variation <variant DNA molecules> <variant anginal attacks>

Main Entry: 2variant
Function: noun
: one that exhibits variation from a type, norm, or wild type : MUTATION; also : one whose behavior is at variance with the norms of society
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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variant var·i·ant (vâr'ē-ənt, vār'-)
adj.

  1. Having or exhibiting variation; differing.
  2. Tending or liable to vary; variable.
  3. Deviating from a standard, usually by only a slight difference.
n.
Something that differs in form only slightly from something else.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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