Dictionary

variance en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈvæɹ.i.əns/ (US) without the Mary–marry–merry merger
• (Texas) audio
• /ˈveː.ɹi.əns/ (Australia)
• /ˈveə.ɹi.əns/ (New-Zealand) without the cheer–chair merger
• (US) audio
• /ˈvɛə.ɹi.əns/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈvɛː.ɹi.əns/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈviə.ɹi.əns/ New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
• /ˈvɛɹ.i.əns/ US, Mary–marry–merry merger, Canada

Etymology

From Middle English variance, variaunce, equivalent to vary + -ance, from Old French variance or directly from Anglo-Latin variaunce, veriaunce, wariaunce; all from Latin variantia.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The act of varying or the state of being variable.
2. (countable, uncountable) A difference between what is expected and what is observed; deviation.
   • The study not only showed IQ variance between children the same parents, but because the authors had the IQ scores of various parents, it demonstrated that parents with higher IQs tended to have more kids, ruling out the dysgenic fertility theory as a driver of falling IQ scores and highlighting the role of environmental factors instead. 2018 June 13, Rory Smith, “IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds”, in CNN, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2023:
   • Certain other factors were considered to explain the variance from expected figures. All seven aviators smoked. Each considered himself to be in good physical condition, though none found the time to exercise regularly. No aviator was obese. 1973, United States Army Aviation Digest - Volume 19, page 18:
   • This remains an important tool and relies on simple subtraction to evaluate the difference ( variance ) between a planned result and an actual measurement. 2004, F. L. Harrison, Dennis Lock, Advanced Project Management: A Structured Approach, page 212:
   • Whenever a patient is recorded as having a variance (V), it is important to return soon afterwards to see if the care intervention has helped. 2012, Penny Howard, Becky Whittaker (nee Chady), Karen Holland, Placement Learning in Cancer & Palliative Care Nursing, page 160:
3. (countable, uncountable) The state of differing or being in conflict.
   • But here, again, is the old variance between nature and fortune: each seems to delight in marring the work of the other. 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XXVII. Lady Marchmont to Sir Jasper Meredith.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 246:
4. (countable, uncountable) An official permit to do something that is ordinarily forbidden by regulations.
5. (countable, uncountable) A discrepancy between two legal documents.
6. (countable, uncountable) A departure from a cause of action originally in a complaint.
7. (countable, uncountable) The second central moment in probability; the square of the standard deviation.
8. (countable, uncountable) The number of degrees of freedom in a system.
9. (countable, uncountable) Covariance and contravariance generally.
   • Depending on the variance of the type constructor, the subtyping relation of the simple types may be either preserved, reversed, or ignored for the respective complex types.

Forms

Deriveds

covariance · intervariance · subvariance · analysis of variance · univariance · equivariance · bivariance · at variance · variance drain · product variance · semivariance · multivariance · invariance · hypervariance · biovariance

Translations (50)

fr variance (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · da varians (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · ru расхожде́ние (act of varying or the state of being variable) · ro diferență (state of differing or being in conflict) · id variansi (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · ro discrepanță (discrepancy, especially between two legal documents) · bg променливост (act of varying or the state of being variable) · ru несоотве́тствие (discrepancy, especially between two legal documents) · ms varians (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · ro contradicție (state of differing or being in conflict) · ka უთანხმოება (state of differing or being in conflict) · ru разногла́сие (state of differing or being in conflict) · ru отклоне́ние (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · nl afwijkend (act of varying or the state of being variable) · ro variere (act of varying or the state of being variable) · ru противоре́чие (state of differing or being in conflict) · bg различие (difference between what is expected and what happens) · fi poikkeama (difference between what is expected and what happens) · ja 分散 (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · cmn 變異數 /变异数 (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · ro variație (difference between what is expected and what happens) · ka ურთიერთწინააღმდეგობა (state of differing or being in conflict) · fi erimielisyys (state of differing or being in conflict) · it varianza (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · cmn 方差 (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · nl contradictorisch (state of differing or being in conflict) · cs rozptyl (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · bg несъотве́тствие (discrepancy, especially between two legal documents) · fi vaihtelu (act of varying or the state of being variable) · ka განსხვავება (act of varying or the state of being variable) · de Varianz (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · fi eripuraisuus (state of differing or being in conflict) · pt variância (act of varying or the state of being variable) · tl alig (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · pl wariancja (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · eu bariantza (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · fi ristiriita (discrepancy, especially between two legal documents) · nl tegenspraak (discrepancy, especially between two legal documents) · es varianza (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · bg разногла́сие (state of differing or being in conflict) · pt variância (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · nl variantie (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · ka შეუსაბამობა (discrepancy, especially between two legal documents) · ru расхожде́ние (discrepancy, especially between two legal documents) · id ragam (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · ka სხვადასხვაობა (act of varying or the state of being variable) · fi varianssi (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · ru диспе́рсия (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · ar تَبَايُن (second central moment in probability (statistics)) · nl onverwacht (difference between what is expected and what happens)