vary

verb

\ ˈver-ē

varied; varying

Definition of vary

transitive verb

1 : to make a partial change in : make different in some attribute or characteristic

2 : to make differences between items in : diversify

intransitive verb

1 : to exhibit or undergo change the sky was constantly varying

2 : deviate, depart

3 : to take on successive values y varies inversely with x

4 : to exhibit divergence in structural or physiological characters from the typical form

Other Words from vary Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about vary

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Synonyms & Antonyms for vary

Synonyms

contrast, differ

Antonyms

compare, match

Choose the Right Synonym for vary

change, alter, vary, modify mean to make or become different. change implies making either an essential difference often amounting to a loss of original identity or a substitution of one thing for another. changed the shirt for a larger size alter implies a difference in some particular respect without suggesting loss of identity. slightly altered the original design vary stresses a breaking away from sameness, duplication, or exact repetition. vary your daily routine modify suggests a difference that limits, restricts, or adapts to a new purpose. modified the building for use by the disabled

Examples of vary in a Sentence

The terrain varies as you climb higher. The cost of a room at the hotel varies with the season. Their services vary depending on the customer. They've tried to improve their procedures, with varying degrees of success. The diamonds vary in size. Colors vary from light to dark. I try to vary my diet by eating different kinds of foods.

Recent Examples on the Web

Like Capano explained above, the perfect dose varies from person to person. — Laurel Leicht, Marie Claire, "An Expert Answers All Your Questions About CBD," 26 Mar. 2019 The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hands out tonight’s trophies, tends to be a sort of shadowy, mysterious bunch, and their tastes have been known to vary widely from both the critical and audience consensus. — Vogue, "All of the Winners From the 2019 Golden Globes," 7 Jan. 2019 The scale of releases is expected to vary from sector to sector. — Dara Lind, Vox, "Trump administration to release hundreds of immigrant families from detention," 27 Dec. 2018 And the data posted by Spacetrack seems to vary from our observations. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "The Pentagon Is Declassifying Lots of Info About What's in Orbit," 13 Dec. 2018 The severity seems to vary; both individual messages and entire chat histories have gone missing, according to a collection of Reddit threads trying to make sense of the issue. — Chris Welch, The Verge, "Google says a fix is coming for disappearing text messages on Pixel 3," 14 Nov. 2018 But overall, the health effects of self-employment seem to vary from person to person and—like office jobs—can be either positive or negative. — Markham Heid, Time, "Is Working Remotely Bad for Your Health?," 9 July 2018 To commercialize an offering, Google would first need to get its hands on more records, which tend to vary widely across health providers. — Mark Bergen, chicagotribune.com, "Google is training machines to predict when a patient will die," 25 June 2018 To commercialize an offering, Google would first need to get its hands on more records, which tend to vary widely across health providers. — Mark Bergen, ajc, "Google is training machines to predict when a patient will die," 23 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for vary

Middle English varien, borrowed from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French varier, borrowed from Latin variāre "to mark with contrasting colors, give variety to, make changeable," derivative of varius "having contrasting colors, of different kinds, changeable," of uncertain origin

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