variation

Plural: variations

Noun

• an instance of change; the rate or magnitude of change
• an activity that varies from a norm or standard
  • "any variation in his routine was immediately reported"
• a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished
• something a little different from others of the same type
  • "an emery wheel is the modern variation of a grindstone"
• an artifact that deviates from a norm or standard
  • "he patented a variation on the sandal"
• the angle (at a particular location) between magnetic north and true north
• the process of varying or being varied
• (astronomy) any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite (especially a perturbation of the earth's moon)
• (biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration
• (ballet) a solo dance or dance figure
• the act of changing or altering something slightly but noticeably from the norm or standard
  • "who is responsible for these variations in taxation?"
• The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing.
• A related but distinct thing.
• The angular difference at the vessel between the direction of true north and magnetic north.
• A line of play that differs from the original.
• 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.
• The modification of a hereditary trait.
• Deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body.
• 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.

Examples

• All of his soups are variations on a single recipe.
• When the process didn't work, we tried a variation.

Synonyms

edition, fluctuation, magnetic declination, magnetic variation, mutant, mutation, pas seul, sport, variance, variant, version

Related Words

variant, vary