variance

[ vair-ee-uhns ]

noun

1. the state, quality, or fact of being variable, divergent, different, or anomalous.
2. an instance of varying; difference; discrepancy.
3. Also called mean square deviation. Statistics. the square of the standard deviation.
4. Physics, Chemistry. the number of degrees of freedom of a system.
5. Law.
   1. a difference or discrepancy, as between two statements or documents in law that should agree.
   2. a departure from the cause of action originally stated in the complaint.
6. an official permit to do something normally forbidden by regulations, especially by building in a way or for a purpose normally forbidden by a zoning law or a building code.
7. a disagreement, dispute, or quarrel.

variance

/ ˈvɛərɪəns /

noun

1. the act of varying or the quality, state, or degree of being divergent; discrepancy
2. an instance of diverging; dissension

   our variance on this matter should not affect our friendship

3. at variance
   1. often foll by with (of facts, etc) not in accord; conflicting
   2. (of persons) in a state of dissension
4. statistics a measure of dispersion obtained by taking the mean of the squared deviations of the observed values from their mean in a frequency distribution
5. a difference or discrepancy between two steps in a legal proceeding, esp between a statement in a pleading and the evidence given to support it
6. (in the US and Canada) a licence or authority issued by the board of variance to contravene the usual rule, esp to build contrary to the provision of a zoning code
7. chem the number of degrees of freedom of a system, used in the phase rule
8. accounting the difference between actual and standard costs of production

Other Words From

• non·vari·ance noun
• self-vari·ance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of variance¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin variantia, from vari(āre) “to vary” ( vary ) + -antia -ance

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at variance,
   1. (of things) in a state of difference or disagreement.
   2. (of persons) in a state of controversy or dissension:

      at variance with one's superiors.

Example Sentences

That variance in effectiveness is a reason why you might want to give later instead of giving today.

From Vox

A reverse image search will also reveal whether a photo has been photoshopped by pulling up all similar images and allowing you to identify suspicious variances.

From ProPublica

There’s variance in personalities even variance within a breed.

From Freakonomics

According to historians, this scope of variance can be credibly hypothesized from the sheer number of technical terms used in contemporary sources to describe them.

From Realm of History

Usually, it involves variances that are quite high from the original plan, which means that they are highly subject to judicial challenge.

From Freakonomics

And increased coverage explained 88% of the variance in death rate— an extremely strong correlation.

From The Daily Beast

But we should remember that the economy explains the large majority of the variance in political trust and approval.

From The Daily Beast

But that conceals a great deal of variance in the outcomes: for some people, the expense isnt' worth it at all.

From The Daily Beast

Well, it suggests that college is to some extent a lottery; the averages are concealing a lot of variance.

From The Daily Beast

Sir Richard Lundy went over to Percy, 'saying that he would no longer war in company with men in discord and at variance.'

From Project Gutenberg

It is only when the making of the vow would be at variance with the requirements of duty, that forbearing to vow would be no sin.

From Project Gutenberg

It is, I think, equally obvious that the three days of the romances were not at variance with actual practice.

From Project Gutenberg

She was grieved to find Henriette at variance with those who had practical knowledge of education.

From Project Gutenberg

The variance in the strength of existing bridges is such as to be apparent to the educated eye without any calculation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• deviation
• difference of opinion
• discrepancy
• divergence
• fluctuation