variation.

1. A difference between instances of something, or a change in its form or amount.

2. A musical passage that changes a theme while retaining a recognizable relationship to it.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• regional variation
• variation in outcomes

On the page

Regional variation was greater than the national figures suggested.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Countable or uncountable by context; countable singular variation; plural variations. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.