Adjacent Words

variant definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: differing from a norm or standard; "a variant spelling"
2: exhibiting variation and change; "letters variant in size" n
1: an event that departs from expectations [syn: discrepancy, variance, variant]
2: (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms" [syn: form, variant, strain, var.]
3: a variable quantity that is random [syn: random variable, variate, variant, stochastic variable, chance variable]
4: something a little different from others of the same type; "an experimental version of the night fighter"; "a variant of the same word"; "an emery wheel is the modern variation of a grindstone"; "the boy is a younger edition of his father" [syn: version, variant, variation, edition]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 14th century 1. obsolete variable 2. manifesting variety, deviation, or disagreement 3. varying usually slightly from the standard form <variant readings> <variant spellings> II. noun Date: circa 1848 one of two or more persons or things exhibiting usually slight differences: as a. one that exhibits variation from a type or norm b. one of two or more different spellings (as labor and labour) or pronunciations (as of economics ek-, ?k-) of the same word c. one of two or more words (as geographic and geographical) or word elements (as mon- and mono-) of essentially the same meaning differing only in the presence or absence of an affix

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 differing in form or details from the main one (a variant spelling). 2 having different forms (forty variant types of pigeon). 3 variable or changing. --n. a variant form, spelling, type, reading, etc. Etymology: ME f. OF (as VARY)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Variant Va"ri*ant, a. [L. varians, p. pr. of variare to change: cf. F. variant. See Vary.] 1. Varying in from, character, or the like; variable; different; diverse. 2. Changeable; changing; fickle. [Obs.] He is variant, he abit [abides] nowhere. --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Variant Va"ri*ant, n. [Cf. F. variante.] Something which differs in form from another thing, though really the same; as, a variant from a type in natural history; a variant of a story or a word.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(variants) A variant of a particular thing is something that has a different form to that thing, although it is related to it. The quagga was a strikingly beautiful variant of the zebra... N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n

Moby Thesaurus

altering, alternative, antagonistic, antipathetic, assorted, at cross-purposes, at loggerheads, at odds, at variance, at war, changing, clashing, contradictory, contrary, contrasted, contrasting, cranky, cross, departing, deviant, deviating, deviative, different, differentiated, differing, disaccordant, disagreeable, disagreeing, discordant, discrepant, discrete, discriminated, disharmonious, disjoined, disparate, disproportionate, dissident, dissimilar, dissonant, distinct, distinguished, divergent, diverging, divers, diverse, diversified, grating, heterogeneous, hostile, immiscible, in disagreement, inaccordant, incompatible, incongruous, inconsistent, inconsonant, inharmonious, irreconcilable, jangling, jarring, many, modification, motley, multifarious, negative, out of accord, out of whack, poles apart, poles asunder, repugnant, separate, separated, several, unconformable, uncongenial, unequal, unharmonious, unlike, unstable, variable, variation, varied, variegated, various, varying, widely apart, worlds apart