Synonym Chooser

How does the noun variance contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of variance are conflict, contention, discord, dissension, and strife. While all these words mean "a state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony," variance implies a clash between persons or things owing to a difference in nature, opinion, or interest.

cultural variances that work against a national identity

In what contexts can conflict take the place of variance?

The meanings of conflict and variance largely overlap; however, conflict usually stresses the action of forces in opposition but in static applications implies an irreconcilability as of duties or desires.

the conflict of freedom and responsibility

Where would contention be a reasonable alternative to variance?

While the synonyms contention and variance are close in meaning, contention applies to strife or competition that shows itself in quarreling, disputing, or controversy.

several points of contention about the new zoning law

When is discord a more appropriate choice than variance?

The words discord and variance can be used in similar contexts, but discord implies an intrinsic or essential lack of harmony producing quarreling, factiousness, or antagonism.

a political party long racked by discord

When would dissension be a good substitute for variance?

In some situations, the words dissension and variance are roughly equivalent. However, dissension implies strife or discord and stresses a division into factions.

religious dissension threatened to split the colony

When is it sensible to use strife instead of variance?

While in some cases nearly identical to variance, strife emphasizes a struggle for superiority rather than the incongruity or incompatibility of the persons or things involved.

during his brief reign the empire was never free of civil strife

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of variance As the window shrinks, the variance in the correlation increases. Korok Ray, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025 Contrast your retaining wall against a tree line The variance between the sharp angles and organic branches create a yin-yang dynamic. Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 18 Apr. 2025 But the grand prix was rather dull, turning into a one-stop race without much tactical variance. Luke Smith, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025 The price variance depends on the company but no company can ever charge you fees before the deal has been approved by both you and your creditors and the payment has been made. Víctor Rosario, Sacbee.com, 3 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for variance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for variance
Noun
  • Ander Herrera was yet another player to have friction with Van Gaal at United (the manager once told him off for shooting — and scoring — with a first-time effort instead of taking a touch).
    Carl Anka, New York Times, 16 May 2025
  • Those friction points are the real roadmap to a better UX.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
Noun
  • That was as close as Mrs. Obama got to directly addressing the rumors of marital discord.
    Claire Moses, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
  • But right now, there's no discord between he and I, which is great.
    Shania Russell, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Editors’ Picks An editor at Fast Company, a magazine about business, technology and design, was among the first to notice the discordance.
    Adeel Hassan, New York Times, 4 May 2025
  • Sachs plays on the discordance between his naturalistic approach and the theatricality of the project with meta elements like a quick glimpse of the crew or posed shots of the actors occasionally punctuating the conversation, accompanied by blasts of Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • The White House has said there is no conflict and that the president is acting in the interests of the American public and not his own.
    Susan Heavey, USA Today, 15 May 2025
  • Beneath the surface, there are, in fact, some major conflicts brewing in Enzo’s life: He’s been waging a quiet war against his bourgeois parents (Pierfrancesco Favino, Elodie Bouchez), rejecting the typical academic route that his older brother (Nathan Japy) has successfully chosen.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2025
Noun
  • The fight over Trump’s deportation policy is a major source of strife.
    Mike Lillis, The Hill, 12 May 2025
  • After years of strife for the California film and television industry, Gov. Gavin Newsom in October proposed a significant increase to the overall cap on incentives, more than doubling it from $330 million to $750M annually.
    Katie Campione, Deadline, 11 May 2025
Noun
  • The Gulf country hosts America’s largest military air base in the Middle East, which is of interest to war planners but largely unknown to U.S. citizens.
    Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 May 2025
  • Fearing President Donald Trump’s chaotic trade war would ignite a global recession, investors scrambled to dump US assets.
    Matt Egan, CNN Money, 15 May 2025
Noun
  • The University needs—and does, in fact, tolerate—a degree of internal dissent; dissenters make the educational enterprise seem, in that romantic retrospect, legitimate.
    Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 17 May 2025
  • Advertisement Advertisement Only two of the court’s Justices—Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas—publicly noted their dissent.
    Nik Popli, Time, 16 May 2025
Noun
  • The Catholic Church faces similar challenges but so far has been able to avoid schisms by limiting the actual changes being made.
    Dennis Doyle, The Conversation, 8 May 2025
  • But as President Trump exerts near-total control over the Republican Party, and the country seems bitterly divided along partisan lines more than ever, the G.O.P. schism in Montana has attracted outsize attention.
    Will Warasila, New York Times, 3 May 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Variance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/variance. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on variance

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!