vary

verb \ ˈver-ē \

Definition of vary

varied; varying

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

—

varyingly

play \ˈver-ē-iŋ-lē\ adverb

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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 of vary from the Web

There also was varying damage to structures hosted on stilts.

— Washington Post, "Coastal residents try to recover from Harvey’s devastation," 30 Aug. 2017
There also was varying damage to structures hosted on stilts.

— Washington Post, "Coastal residents try to recover from Harvey’s devastation," 30 Aug. 2017
There also was varying damage to structures hosted on stilts.

— kelly p. kissel, The Seattle Times, "Coastal residents try to recover from Harvey’s devastation," 29 Aug. 2017
And the results of a recent study back up the fact that not only do most women need some level of hands-on touching to hit climax during intercourse, the type of touch—the rhythm, motion, and pressure—varies widely.

— Health.com, "These Are the Moves That Really Make Women Orgasm, According to Science," 29 Aug. 2017
The British mail service will be driving nine fully-electric commercial trucks of varying sizes with ranges of up to 100 miles.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "British Mail Introduces Delightful Electric Mail Trucks," 24 Aug. 2017
Furber and her team spent the better part of the past year zipping around the country trying to convince companies of varying sizes and industries to move to IEX.

— annie massa, Bloomberg.com, "‘Flash Boys’ IEX Tries to Lure Listings From Giants NYSE, Nasdaq," 11 Aug. 2017
The averages varied, hinting at different populations of neurons by region.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "New kinds of brain cells discovered by Salk, UCSD scientists," 10 Aug. 2017
Five districts — including Broward County schools — have committed to suing so far, and at least 14 others, like Miami-Dade, are at varying stages of considering such action.

— kyra gurney and kristen m. clark, miamiherald, "Miami schools move toward joining lawsuit against state education law," 26 July 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

vary Synonyms

Synonyms

contrast, differ

Antonyms

compare, match

Related Words

deviate, diverge, divide, fluctuate, separate

Near Antonyms

accord, agree, conform, correspond

Synonym Discussion of 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.