Variation

/ˌvɛəɹɪˈeɪʃn̩/ · noun

Meaning

The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing..

Definitions by Sense

1. The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing.
2. A related but distinct thing.
3. (nautical) The angular difference at the vessel between the direction of true north and magnetic north.
4. (board games) A line of play that differs from the original.
5. (music) A technique where material is repeated with alterations to the melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, counterpoint or orchestration; but with some invariant characteristic, e.g. a ground bass.
6. (genetics) The modification of a hereditary trait.
7. (astronomy) Deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body.
8. (linguistics) The situation where two or more linguistic forms appear in the same environment without a change in meaning, the choice of form being determined by factors of dialect, sociolect, register or simply the speaker's preference.

Example Sentences

Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.

When the process didn't work, we tried a variation.

All of his soups are variations on a single recipe.

Selfishness has different variations, but in the end it is all the same.

Synonyms for variation

Antonyms for variation

Related Words

Word Forms

• variations

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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