Word family noun variable variance variant variety variability variation adjective variable ≠ invariable varied various verb vary adverb variably ≠ invariably variously
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishvariationvar‧i‧a‧tion /ˌveəriˈeɪʃən $ ˌver-/ ●●○ AWL noun 1 [countable, uncountable]DIFFERENT a difference between similar things, or a change from the usual amount or form of somethingvariation of White bread is really just a variation of French bread.variation in variations in the quality of the rugsvariation among There is a great deal of variation among the responses.variation between The study concluded that the variation between the CD players was very small.2 [countable]DIFFERENT something that is done in a way that is different from the way it is usually done Most of his poems are variations on the theme of love.3 [countable]APM one of a set of short pieces of music, each based on the same simple tune Bach’s Goldberg variationsExamples from the Corpus
variation• The new movie is a variation on the theme of the original 'Blue Lagoon'.• There continued to be striking regional and social class variations in infant mortality and in life expectancy at later ages.• There are least ten styles of Apple Mac computers, and countless variations in those models.• All this data combined will allow scientists to determine Eros's density, and any density variations deep inside the asteroid.• But the individual variations in the patterns of disease are less widely unpredictable than those of recovery.• This recipe makes an interesting variation on the traditional Christmas cake.• There is a great deal of variation among the responses.• There were other variations too: some ships had low prows and high sterns, whilst others were high at both ends.• Because regional variations tend to be more pronounced among working-class speakers, it is also a class variation.• Most of the instrumentals are simply variations of past themes, but who cares?• Looking at the might-have-beens of stylistic variation is a way of making the elusive quality of good writing open to inspection.There is ... variation• There is considerable variation between sports around the overall averages reported above.• There is enormous variation in just what is transferred and in who gives what to whom.• There is much variation among the reports, but the average is in the range of 4-6 % per epileptic pregnancy.• There is some variation in educational achievement from country to country within the United Kingdom.• In all three cases, the 17-OHCS are elevated and there is no diurnal variation.• But there is wide variation among Internet providers in cost, features, software, reliability and customer service.• Beyond these laws, there is substantial cross-national variation in government control of the print and broadcast media.• The second column also shows that there is a wide variation between regions in the proportion of exports to foreign debt.variations on ... theme• These are just some of the myriad architectural variations on the theme of three which grace this eccentric creation.• Such reasoning can be traced down to the present day, although there are variations on the theme.• Catholic variations on the theme can be found in the thought, for example, of Karl Rahner and David Tracy.• Moreover, there are wide local variations on the theme.• In short, there are many variations on the theme set out in the last paragraph.• There are many possible variations on the theme of symmetry.• The dealers themselves started working variations on the theme.From Longman Business Dictionaryvariationvar‧i‧a‧tion /ˌveəriˈeɪʃənˌver-/ noun [countable, uncountable] a difference or change in the normal amount or appearance of somethingLabor figures in both reports are adjusted for seasonal variation (=variation that depends on the time of year).variation onThey are using the same advertising campaign, with just a variation on the original slogan. 