variation
noun
Simple meaning
Changing or altering something slightly but noticeably from the norm or standard.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vehreeayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
vɛɹiˈeɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of changing or altering something slightly but noticeably from the norm or standard
“Who is responsible for these variations in taxation?”
The process of varying or being varied
The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing.
A related but distinct thing.
genetics
The modification of a hereditary trait.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of changing or altering something slightly but noticeably from the norm or standard
Used this way, variation is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Who is responsible for these variations in taxation?”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “variation in …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: variation in …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use variation
- “Who is responsible for these variations in taxation?”noun
- “He patented a variation on the sandal.”noun
- “Any variation in his routine was immediately reported.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Angle / angular
Related
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Something that is likely to vary.
An event that departs from expectations.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The calculus of maxima and minima of definite integrals.
Fluctuations that occur between one day and the next.
Fluctuations that occur during each day.
The angle (at a particular location) between magnetic north and true north.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The quality of being subject to variation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.