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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

vary.

To change with time or a similar parameter.

4 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈvɛəɹi/Received-Pronunciation/ˈvɛːɹɪj/British, Southern, Standard/ˈvɛəɹi/US/ˈvæɹi/US
  1. To change with time or a similar parameter.

    transitive
    He varies his magic tricks so as to minimize the possibility that any given audience member will see the same trick twice.
  2. To institute a change in, from a current state; to modify.

    transitive
    You should vary your diet. Eating just bread will do you harm in the end.
  3. Not to remain constant: to change with time or a similar parameter.

    intransitive
    His mood varies by the hour.
    The sine function varies between −1 and 1.
  4. To display differences.

    intransitive
    The sprouting tendency of potatoes varies between cultivars, years and places of growing.
  5. To be or act different from the usual.

    intransitive
    I'm not comfortable with 3.Nc3 in the Caro-Kann, so I decided to vary and play exd5.
  6. To make of different kinds; to make different from one another; to diversify; to variegate.

    transitive
  7. To embellish; to change fancifully; to present under new aspects, as of form, key, measure, etc. See variation.

    transitive
  8. To disagree; to be at variance or in dissension.

    intransitive · obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English varien, from Old French varier, from Latin variō (“to change, alter, make different”), from varius (“different, various”); see various.

noun/ˈvɛəɹi/Received-Pronunciation/ˈvɛːɹɪj/British, Southern, Standard/ˈvɛəɹi/US/ˈvæɹi/US
  1. alteration; change.

    obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English varien, from Old French varier, from Latin variō (“to change, alter, make different”), from varius (“different, various”); see various.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.