variability

American  

[vair-ee-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌvɛər i əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

1. the quality of being subject to change, especially frequent, random, or short-term change: Ensuring effective cooperation in home care is difficult because of the variability of schedules and tasks of both patients and caregivers.

   On a longer time scale, climate variability translates into shortages of food and water worldwide.

   Ensuring effective cooperation in home care is difficult because of the variability of schedules and tasks of both patients and caregivers.

2. the quality of including different kinds, or of being different from one case to the other; diversity.

   Healthcare administrators noted the variability among nursing education programs and called for standardization.

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Other Word Forms

• hypervariability noun
• nonvariability noun

Etymology

Origin of variability

variable ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

The proposal would cap the number of A’s per course at 20%, plus an additional four A’s to account for smaller courses with more variability.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Cost of living is often hard to measure given the variability in how households choose to spend their money, Reid said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026

"Our results suggest that this kind of climate variability was the exception, rather than the rule," explained Professor Gernon.

From Science Daily • Feb. 12, 2026

The UK's rainfall is strongly influenced by natural variability, but the trend towards wetter winters is in line with predictions from the UK's meteorological organisation.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

If the base sequences were always the same, all DNA molecules would be identical and there would not exist the variability that must distinguish one gene from another.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

Related Words

• anxiety
• fluctuation
• insecurity
• uncertainty
• volatility
• vulnerability
• weakness