Adjacent Words

Variety definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VARI'ETY, n. [L. varietas, from vario, to vary.]
1. Intermixture of different things, or of things different in form; or a succession of different things.
Variety is nothing else but a continued novelty.
The variety of colors depends on the composition of light.
2. One thing of many which constitute variety. In this sense, it has a plural; as the varieties of a species.
3. Difference; dissimilitude.
There is a variety in the tempers of good men.
4. Variation; deviation; change from a former state. [Little used.]
5. Many and different kinds. The shopkeeper has a great variety of cottons and silks.
He wants to do a variety of good things.
6. In natural history, a difference not permanent or invariable, but occasioned by an accidental change; as a variety of any species of plant.
Naturalists formerly erred very much in supposing an accidental variety of plants, animals or minerals, to be a distinct species. Ray has established a good test for varieties in botany. A plant is distinct, which propagates itself in its own form by its seed; but when the difference disappears in the new plant, it is only a variety. Variety then is a difference between individuals, not permanent nor important enough to constitute a distinct species; such as in size, color, fullness, curling, etc.
7. Different sort; as varieties of soil or land.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a collection containing a variety of sorts of things; "a great assortment of cars was on display"; "he had a variety of disorders"; "a veritable smorgasbord of religions" [syn: assortment, mixture, mixed bag, miscellany, miscellanea, variety, salmagundi, smorgasbord, potpourri, motley]
2: noticeable heterogeneity; "a diversity of possibilities"; "the range and variety of his work is amazing" [syn: diverseness, diversity, multifariousness, variety]
3: (biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differ from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics; "varieties are frequently recognized in botany"
4: a show consisting of a series of short unrelated performances [syn: variety show, variety]
5: a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality; "sculpture is a form of art"; "what kinds of desserts are there?" [syn: kind, sort, form, variety]
6: a difference that is usually pleasant; "he goes to France for variety"; "it is a refreshing change to meet a woman mechanic" [syn: variety, change]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ties) Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French varieté, from Latin varietat-, varietas, from varius various Date: 15th century 1. the quality or state of having different forms or types ; multifariousness 2. a number or collection of different things especially of a particular class ; assortment 3. a. something differing from others of the same general kind ; sort b. any of various groups of plants or animals ranking below a species ; subspecies 4. variety show

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 diversity; absence of uniformity; many-sidedness; the condition of being various (not enough variety in our lives). 2 a quantity or collection of different things (for a variety of reasons). 3 a a class of things different in some common qualities from the rest of a larger class to which they belong. b a specimen or member of such a class. 4 (foll. by of) a different form of a thing, quality, etc. 5 Biol. a a subspecies. b a cultivar. c an individual or group usually fertile within the species to which it belongs but differing from the species type in some qualities capable of perpetuation. 6 a mixed sequence of dances, songs, comedy acts, etc. (usu. attrib.: a variety show). Phrases and idioms: variety store US a shop selling many kinds of small items. Etymology: F variété or L varietas (as VARIOUS)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Variety Va*ri"e*ty, n. (Theaters) Such entertainment as in given in variety shows; the production of, or performance in, variety shows. [Cant]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Variety Va*ri"e*ty, n.; pl. Varieties. [L. varietas: cf. F. vari['e]t['e]. See Various.] 1. The quality or state of being various; intermixture or succession of different things; diversity; multifariousness. Variety is nothing else but a continued novelty. --South. The variety of colors depends upon the composition of light. --Sir I. Newton. For earth this variety from heaven. --Milton. There is a variety in the tempers of good men. --Atterbury. 2. That which is various. Specifically: (a) A number or collection of different things; a varied assortment; as, a variety of cottons and silks. He . . . wants more time to do that variety of good which his soul thirsts after. --Law. (b) Something varying or differing from others of the same general kind; one of a number of things that are akin; a sort; as, varieties of wood, land, rocks, etc. (c) (Biol.) An individual, or group of individuals, of a species differing from the rest in some one or more of the characteristics typical of the species, and capable either of perpetuating itself for a period, or of being perpetuated by artificial means; hence, a subdivision, or peculiar form, of a species. Note: Varieties usually differ from species in that any two, however unlike, will generally propagate indefinitely (unless they are in their nature unfertile, as some varieties of rose and other cultivated plants); in being a result of climate, food, or other extrinsic conditions or influences, but generally by a sudden, rather than a gradual, development; and in tending in many cases to lose their distinctive peculiarities when the individuals are left to a state of nature, and especially if restored to the conditions that are natural to typical individuals of the species. Many varieties of domesticated animals and of cultivated plants have been directly produced by man. (d) In inorganic nature, one of those forms in which a species may occur, which differ in minor characteristics of structure, color, purity of composition, etc. Note: These may be viewed as variations from the typical species in its most perfect and purest form, or, as is more commonly the case, all the forms, including the latter, may rank as Varieties. Thus, the sapphire is a blue variety, and the ruby a red variety, of corundum; again, calcite has many Varieties differing in form and structure, as Iceland spar, dogtooth spar, satin spar, and also others characterized by the presence of small quantities of magnesia, iron, manganese, etc. Still again, there are Varieties of granite differing in structure, as graphic granite, porphyritic granite, and other Varieties differing in composition, as albitic granite, hornblendic, or syenitic, granite, etc. Geographical variety (Biol.), a variety of any species which is coincident with a geographical region, and is usually dependent upon, or caused by, peculiarities of climate. Variety hybrid (Biol.), a cross between two individuals of different varieties of the same species; a mongrel. Syn: Diversity; difference; kind. Usage: Variety, Diversity. A man has a variety of employments when he does many things which are not a mere repetition of the same act; he has a diversity of employments when the several acts performed are unlike each other, that is, diverse. In most cases, where there is variety there will be more or less of diversity, but not always. One who sells railroad tickets performs a great variety of acts in a day, while there is but little diversity in his employment. All sorts are here that all the earth yields! Variety without end. --Milton. But see in all corporeal nature's scene, What changes, what diversities, have been! --Blackmore.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(varieties) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If something has variety, it consists of things which are different from each other. Susan's idea of freedom was to have variety in her life style... = diversity 2. A variety of things is a number of different kinds or examples of the same thing. The island offers such a wide variety of scenery and wildlife... People change their mind for a variety of reasons. N-SING: usu N of n 3. A variety of something is a type of it. She has 12 varieties of old-fashioned roses. = kind N-COUNT: oft N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Diversity, difference. 2. Varied assortment. 3. Kind, species, class. 4. Multiplicity, multiformity, multifariousness.

Moby Thesaurus

Broadway, Proteus, a certain number, a few, about-face, accommodation, adaptation, adjustment, affiliation, allotropism, allotropy, alteration, amelioration, apostasy, assortment, betterment, biotype, blood, body, branch, brand, break, breed, burlesque, capriciousness, cast, category, change, change of heart, changeability, changeableness, character, choice, choppiness, church, circus, clan, class, classification, collectanea, collection, color, communion, community, conglomerate, conglomeration, constructive change, continuity, contrariety, contrast, conversion, dappleness, defection, degeneration, degenerative change, denomination, departure, description, designation, desultoriness, deterioration, deviability, deviation, difference, differentiation, disaccord, disaccordance, disagreement, disconformity, discongruity, discontinuity, discordance, discrepancy, discreteness, disorder, disparity, dissent, dissimilarity, dissonance, distinction, distinctness, divarication, divergence, divergency, diversification, diversion, diversity, division, drama, eccentricity, entertainment industry, erraticism, faction, family, far cry, feather, fellowship, fickleness, fitting, flightiness, flip-flop, form, freakishness, genotype, genre, genus, grade, gradual change, grain, group, her infinite variety, heterogeneity, heteromorphism, hodgepodge, ilk, improvement, impulsiveness, inaccordance, incompatibility, incongruity, inconsistency, inconsonance, inconstancy, inequality, inharmoniousness, inharmony, instability, irreconcilability, irregularity, jerkiness, kidney, kin, kind, kingdom, label, legit, legitimate stage, line, lot, make, manifoldness, manner, mark, medley, melioration, mercuriality, miscellanea, miscellany, mitigation, mix, mixture, modification, modulation, mold, moodiness, more, motleyness, multifariousness, multiformity, multiplicity, mutability, nature, nonconformism, nonconformity, nonstandardization, nonuniformity, nonuniqueness, number, numerousness, oddments, odds, odds and ends, off Broadway, off-off-Broadway, offshoot, omnifariousness, omniformity, omnium-gatherum, opposition, order, organization, otherness, overthrow, party, persuasion, phylum, playland, pluralism, plurality, pluralness, polymorphism, qualification, race, radical change, raggedness, range, rank, re-creation, realignment, redesign, reform, reformation, religious order, remaking, renewal, repertory drama, reshaping, restlessness, restructuring, reversal, revival, revivification, revolution, schism, school, sect, sectarism, section, segment, selection, separateness, series, several, shape, shapeshifter, shift, shiftiness, show biz, show business, society, sort, species, stage world, stagedom, stageland, stamp, stock, strain, strawhat, strawhat circuit, stripe, style, subclass, subfamily, subgenus, subkingdom, suborder, subspecies, subtribe, sudden change, summer stock, sundries, superclass, superfamily, superorder, superspecies, switch, the boards, the footlights, the like of, the likes of, the scenes, the stage, the theater, theater world, theatromania, theatrophobia, total change, transition, tribe, turn, turnabout, type, uncertainty, unconformism, unconformity, undependability, unevenness, unfixedness, unlikeness, unorthodoxy, unpredictability, unreliability, unsettledness, unstableness, unsteadfastness, unsteadiness, upheaval, variability, variance, variation, variegation, variousness, vaudeville, versatility, version, violent change, wantonness, wavering, waywardness, whimsicality, worsening