variant

[ vair-ee-uhnt ]

adjective

1. tending to change or alter; exhibiting variety or diversity; varying:

   variant shades of color.

2. not agreeing or conforming; differing, especially from something of the same general kind.
3. not definitive, as a version of part of a text; different; alternative:

   a variant reading.

4. not universally accepted.

noun

1. a person or thing that varies.
2. a different spelling, pronunciation, or form of the same word:

   “Vehemency” is a variant of “vehemence.”

3. Microbiology, Pathology. a form of a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism that arises from a strain of the microorganism when a mutation changes a small part of the strain’s genetic code. Compare strain ²( def 5 ).

variant

/ ˈvɛərɪənt /

adjective

1. liable to or displaying variation
2. differing from a standard or type

   a variant spelling

3. obsolete.
   not constant; fickle

noun

1. something that differs from a standard or type
2. statistics another word for variate

Other Words From

• non·var·i·ant adjective noun
• un·var·i·ant adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of variant¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English variaunt(e), variant(e) “undergoing change, tending to change, changeable,” from Old French, from Latin variant-, stem of variāns, present participle of variāre “to mark or adorn with different colors”; various; -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of variant¹

C14: via Old French from Latin variāns, from variāre to diversify, from varius various