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 The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services had previously granted Lahser a variance to operate, but did not renew the variance this year. Lily Altavena, Freep.com, 14 Aug. 2025 One issue that is always going to exist with Fried is that his profile invites variance. Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2025 Stratus clouds are gray layers, sometimes with variances in their luminescence. Noel Kirkpatrick, Treehugger, 7 Aug. 2025 Zoning certifications provide developers with official information on a property, which includes a zoning map, records of any variances, waivers, appeals and zoning cases tied to the land, and any applicable Land Development Code regulations. Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 1 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for variance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for variance
Noun
  • That means that the iX3 will regeneratively brake for the overwhelming majority of the time—just 5–10 percent of braking events should require the friction brakes, we're told.
    Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Entrenched Chinese foreign policy positions, including territorial disputes and industrial subsidies that have flooded foreign markets with cheap exports, will likely remain friction points, experts say, while India's deep distrust of China will not dissipate because of one brief meeting.
    James Pomfret, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • When a mother tree is felled, the survival rate of many of its seedlings may be drastically reduced, a process not unlike the reciprocal feedback loop of Yggdrasill, whose deterioration in response to discord in the nine realms spells cosmic collapse.
    Ellen Walker, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Growing discord between Democrats over the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas flared during the second day of the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) summer meeting.
    Staff, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The sport of off-roading suffers from a fundamental discordance: The desire to get out into nature and the irreparable harm inherent in the process of off-roading.
    Tim Stevens, ArsTechnica, 25 July 2025
  • Many of the tunes including sprawling intros and jam sessions, all melded together with discordance, reverb and instrumental solos.
    Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Noun
  • And if someone begins filming you during the potential conflict?
    Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
  • The country is also the site of the Western Hemisphere’s longest-running internal armed conflict, and constitutionally requires all men between the ages of 18 and 24 to undertake some form of military service.
    Rebecca Johns, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In addition to Kalima’s holograph, the Stories of Survival exhibit also features objects from those who survived such strife in Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Iraq, Rwanda, South Sudan and Syria.
    Kelly Haramis, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The Chrisley family's grand return to TV after Todd and Julie's pardon releases from prison is marred by family strife that grew during the years of lockup.
    Ryan Coleman September 2, EW.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The discordancy is so intriguing — like learning that Katharine Graham went to nude encounter sessions at Esalen, or Alan Greenspan was once in a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band.
    New York Times, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2021
Noun
  • All Quiet on the Western Front is a visually graphic portrayal of the horrors of war, earning four Academy Awards in 2023 — including Best International Feature Film.
    Jacqueline Weiss, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Presumably, this is because those players lost their ‘development’ period — their early teenage years — to the war.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Just as the Kremlin sought to quell dissent against its vicious campaign in the restive republic, so, too, has a deafening silence accompanied its Ukraine folly.
    Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025
  • News about the freeze trickled through the agency the same week that three dozen former and current FEMA employees signed a public letter of dissent against the agency’s leaders.
    Courtney Rozen, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Variance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/variance. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.

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