variant
adjective
var·i·ant
| \ ˈver-ē-ənt
\
\
Definition of variant
(Entry 1 of 2)
variant
nounDefinition of variant (Entry 2 of 2)
: one of two or more persons or things exhibiting usually slight differences: such as
a
: one that exhibits variation from a type or norm
b
: one of two or more different spellings (such as labor and labour) or pronunciations (as of economics \ek-, ēk-\) of the same word
c
: one of two or more words (such as geographic and geographical) or word elements (such as mon- and mono-) of essentially the same meaning differing only in the presence or absence of an affix
Examples of variant in a Sentence
Adjective
variant strains of a diseaseNoun
A new variant of the disease has appeared.Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The building also has a heating-and-cooling system known as variant refrigerant flow, which is quieter, less conspicuous on the facade and twice as efficient as more common through-the-wall systems. — Stefanos Chen, New York Times, "Counting Down to a Green New York," 12 July 2019 These cells were produced by making them express minimally variant human leukocyte antigen class E molecules. — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Skin regeneration, universal donor stem cells and new SMA treatment approach," 15 May 2017 Prices can be widely variant from one side of town to the other, but stations that cluster near one another in areas of heavy traffic often compete closely on pricing. — The Washington Post, The Denver Post, "Savings app Upside pits gas stations against one another," 2 Jan. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Like the Pro variant, there’s still a microSD card slot and a headphone jack. — Sam Byford, The Verge, "Realme 5 and 5 Pro announced with quad cameras and low prices," 20 Aug. 2019 Like others in his situation or a variant of it, Ross also must process how his life will soon go from one of minimal responsibility to that of a single dad. — Whitney Friedlander, CNN, "The 25 most relatable 'Friends' episodes as the show turns 25," 16 Aug. 2019 Reserve Rye Bourbon County Stout An offshoot of a returning variant, this version of the stout is aged in rye whisky barrels, specifically Rittenhouse Rye, to highlight that spicy flavor. — Chris Morris, Fortune, "Goose Island Will Release 8 Bourbon County Variants This Year—and a Collection," 14 Aug. 2019 An assault weapons ban has also received more attention with the rise of extremely deadly mass shootings, as the shooters have used weapons like AR-15s and WASR-10s (a variant of an AK-47) to carry out the attacks. — German Lopez, Vox, "Here’s where every 2020 candidate stands on guns," 7 Aug. 2019 These two slight variants of the carbon atom build up in plants at different rates within forested versus open environments. — John Pickrell, National Geographic, "Saber-tooth surprise: Fossils redraw picture of the fearsome big cat," 5 Aug. 2019 Another domain variant — joe3030.com — was created just 15 seconds later and redirected to Buttigieg’s campaign website. — Los Angeles Times, "Biden’s flubbed text message appeal launches at least five internet domains," 1 Aug. 2019 Last spring, 28 Tory hardliners unleashed another round of havoc on British politics, refusing to vote for Prime Minister Theresa May’s compromise Brexit plan and paving the way for her replacement by Britain’s Trump variant, Boris Johnson. — Myke Cole, The New Republic, "The Sparta Fetish Is a Cultural Cancer," 1 Aug. 2019 Nolan has also witnessed many variants of amusement park behavior, ranging from the entitled to the mindless. — Travis Deshong, Washington Post, "Amusement parks are an expensive way to stand in line while roasting in the sun," 22 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'variant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for variant
variant
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of variant
(Entry 1 of 2)
: different in some way from others of the same kind
variant
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of variant (Entry 2 of 2)
: something that is different in some way from others of the same kind
: one of two or more different ways to spell or pronounce a word
See the full definition for variant in the English Language Learners Dictionary
variant
adjective
var·i·ant
| \ ˈver-ē-ənt
\
\
Kids Definition of variant
(Entry 1 of 2)
: differing from others of its kind or class
variant spellings
variant
nounKids Definition of variant (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: one of two or more things that show slight differences
A new variant of the disease has appeared.
2
: one of two or more different spellings or pronunciations of a word
variant
adjective
var·i·ant
| \ ˈver-ē-ənt, ˈvar-
\
\
Medical Definition of variant
(Entry 1 of 2)
variant
nounKeep scrolling for more