VARIETY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does variety mean? 

• VARIETY (noun)
  The noun VARIETY has 6 senses:

1. a collection containing a variety of sorts of things

2. noticeable heterogeneity

3. (biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differ from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics

4. a show consisting of a series of short unrelated performances

5. a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality

6. a difference that is usually pleasant

  Familiarity information: VARIETY used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VARIETY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A collection containing a variety of sorts of things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

assortment; miscellanea; miscellany; mixed bag; mixture; motley; potpourri; salmagundi; smorgasbord; variety

Context example:

a veritable smorgasbord of religions

Hypernyms ("variety" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "variety"):

grab bag (an assortment of miscellaneous items)

witch's brew; witches' brew; witches' broth (a fearsome mixture)

range (a variety of different things or activities)

selection (an assortment of things from which a choice can be made)

farrago; gallimaufry; hodgepodge; hotchpotch; melange; mingle-mangle; mishmash; oddments; odds and ends; omnium-gatherum; ragbag (a motley assortment of things)

alphabet soup (a confusing assortment)

sampler (an assortment of various samples)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Noticeable heterogeneity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

diverseness; diversity; multifariousness; variety

Context example:

the range and variety of his work is amazing

Hypernyms ("variety" is a kind of...):

heterogeneity; heterogeneousness (the quality of being diverse and not comparable in kind)

Attribute:

varied (characterized by variety)

unvaried; unvarying (lacking variety)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "variety"):

biodiversity (the diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat (or in the world as a whole))

Sense 3

Meaning:

(biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differ from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

varieties are frequently recognized in botany

Hypernyms ("variety" is a kind of...):

taxon; taxonomic category; taxonomic group (animal or plant group having natural relations)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "variety"):

breed; stock; strain (a special variety of domesticated animals within a species)

cultivar (a variety of a plant developed from a natural species and maintained under cultivation)

Holonyms ("variety" is a part of...):

species ((biology) taxonomic group whose members can interbreed)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A show consisting of a series of short unrelated performances

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

variety; variety show

Hypernyms ("variety" is a kind of...):

show (a social event involving a public performance or entertainment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "variety"):

music hall; vaudeville (a variety show with songs and comic acts etc.)

review; revue (a variety show with topical sketches and songs and dancing and comedians)

minstrel show (a variety show in which the performers are made up in blackface)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

form; kind; sort; variety

Context example:

what kinds of desserts are there?

Hypernyms ("variety" is a kind of...):

category (a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "variety"):

description (sort or variety)

like; the like; the likes of (a similar kind)

stripe (a kind or category)

model (a type of product)

manner (a kind)

ilk; like (a kind of person)

genre (a kind of literary or artistic work)

brand; make (a recognizable kind)

species (a specific kind of something)

color; colour ((physics) the characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction)

flavor; flavour ((physics) the six kinds of quarks)

style (a particular kind (as to appearance))

art form ((architecture) a form of artistic expression (such as writing or painting or architecture))

antitype (an opposite or contrasting type)

type (a subdivision of a particular kind of thing)

genus (a general kind of something)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A difference that is usually pleasant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

change; variety

Context example:

it is a refreshing change to meet a woman mechanic

Hypernyms ("variety" is a kind of...):

difference (the quality of being unlike or dissimilar)

 Context examples 

When one thinks of it, how astonishing a variety of nature!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

AKT promotes cell survival and opposes apoptosis by a variety of routes.

(AKT Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Bath, compared with London, has little variety, and so everybody finds out every year.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

She did not think it in Harriet's nature to escape being benefited by novelty and variety, by the streets, the shops, and the children.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

It is clear, however, that he exists in this country, and that he is not the hairy, gorilla-like variety, which is never seen out of Africa or the East.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His little kitchen was no longer graced with a variety of foods.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The new moon of February 23 will light your third house of travel, which will give you a variety of options.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

They tested a variety of biomarkers and found 48 that were unique to the cancer exosomes.

(Method for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer, NIH)

TAG-72 is overexpressed in a variety of cancers.

(Monoclonal Antibody MDX-220, NCI Thesaurus)

CEA is overexpressed in a variety of tumor cell types.

(ALVAC-CEA vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)