variant
Americanadjective
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tending to change or alter; exhibiting variety or diversity; varying.
variant shades of color.
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not agreeing or conforming; differing, especially from something of the same general kind.
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not definitive, as a version of part of a text; different; alternative.
a variant reading.
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not universally accepted.
noun
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a person or thing that varies.
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a different spelling, pronunciation, or form of the same word.
“Vehemency” is a variant of “vehemence.”
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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.
adjective
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liable to or displaying variation
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differing from a standard or type
a variant spelling
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obsolete not constant; fickle
noun
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something that differs from a standard or type
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statistics another word for variate
Other Word Forms
- nonvariant adjective
- unvariant adjective
Etymology
Origin of variant
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"In a way it almost sounded like a strange variant of Obama 2.0 in terms of economic reforms and so forth," said former ambassador DeLaurentis.
From BBC
The narrative begins with a religious ritual that situates her as a member of Syria’s minority Alawite sect, a variant of Shi’a Islam.
From Los Angeles Times
HBM is a specialized form of dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, with other variants also required.
From Barron's
HBM is a specialized form of dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, with other variants also required.
From Barron's
The disease is caused by inherited changes in DNA known as genetic variants.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
