vary
verb
Simple meaning
Not to remain constant: to change with time or a similar parameter.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vehreeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈvɛɹi
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.
verb
intransitive
Not to remain constant: to change with time or a similar parameter.
transitive
To institute a change in, from a current state; to modify.
intransitive
To be or act different from the usual.
of the members of a groupintransitive
To display differences.
transitive
To make of different kinds; to make different from one another; to diversify; to variegate.
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: Not to remain constant: to change with time or a similar parameter.
Used this way, vary is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Large large-footed North American hare.
Vary in the same time period (of two random variables).
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.