The Meaning of Variety: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you prefer variety or for things to stay the same? This article will explain the meaning of variety and how to use it.

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Have you ever heard idioms like “variety is the spice of life”? This article will teach you all you need to know about the word variety. 

After reading this article, you will know the definition of the word variety, how to use variety in a sentence, the origin of the word variety, and more!  Some might say you’ll know about a variety of topics! 

Read on to familiarize yourself with many topics related to the word variety.

What Does Variety Mean?

According to Dictionary, variety is a noun with several meanings. First, the word variety can refer to a state of diversity, discrepancy, or difference. The word variety can also refer to a category’s type, form, condition, or kind of things. The pronunciation of variety is vəˈraɪəti

How Can Variety Be Used in a Sentence?

People can use the word variety in a variety of different ways! First, take a look at the example sentences below with the word variety, and see if you can figure out how this word of the day is used. Then, come up with your own example sentences that contain variety as practice!

Using new words in a sentence is a fantastic way to remember their definitions, but there are a variety of strategies you can use, including making quizzes or flashcards for yourself. 

Example #1: A Variety of Poses

The contortionist bent herself in a variety of ways, showing a different form to the judges in each of her poses. They were very impressed, and she won the showcase. 

Example #2: The Variety Store

The variety store carried a number of different things, including snacks, games, toys, and treats. We always loved going there after school to pick up something fun. 

Example #3: A Variety Show

The variety show had segments of all different kinds, including vaudeville skits, quizzes and trivia shows, and special acts like jugglers. 

Example #4: A Variety of Reasons

The scientists discovered a variety of reasons why the subspecies somehow lost its tail, but none of them could be proven. So, this mystery remains unsolved. 

What Is the Etymology of Variety?

According to Your Dictionary, the word variety originates from the French variété. This word comes from the Old French variété, Latin varietās, varius, and varietāt. These roots also give us English words like various, varied, and variation.

What Are Translations of Variety?

The word variety has translations in a variety of world languages! (And no, we will never get sick of variety puns!)

If you’re traveling somewhere where people do not speak American English, you can utilize this list of translations of variety from Nice Translator.

You might notice that some of the below translations look similar to the word variety, while others look quite different. 

This is likely because those which look similar to the word variety share a root or language of origin. These are called cognates. Those that look different probably come from a different source. See if you can tell which of these words have the same word origin as variety!

  • Russian: разнообразие
  • Kannada: ವಿವಿಧ
  • Latvian: šķirne
  • German: Vielfalt
  • Swahili: tofauti
  • Thai: ความหลากหลาย
  • Vietnamese: đa dạng
  • Marathi: विविधता
  • Italian: varietà
  • Portuguese (Brazil): variedade
  • Norwegian: variasjon
  • Amharic: የተለያዩ
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 種類
  • Slovak: odroda
  • Gujarati: વિવિધતા
  • Ukrainian: різноманітність
  • Portuguese (Portugal): variedade
  • Icelandic: Fjölbreytni
  • Filipino: iba’t-ibang
  • Malayalam: വൈവിധം
  • Finnish: lajike
  • Bengali: বিভিন্ন ধরণের
  • Romanian: varietate
  • Welsh: hamrywiaeth
  • Arabic: تشكيلة
  • Serbian: разноликост
  • Bulgarian: сорт
  • Czech: odrůda
  • Estonian: sort
  • Urdu: مختلف قسم کے
  • Basque: aldaera
  • Dutch: verscheidenheid
  • Greek: ποικιλία
  • Tamil: பல்வேறு
  • Lithuanian: Įvairovė
  • Slovenian: sorte
  • Croatian: raznolikost
  • Chinese (PRC): 种类
  • Spanish: variedad
  • Japanese: バラエティ
  • Indonesian: variasi
  • Korean: 다양성
  • Hindi: विविधता
  • Polish: różnorodność
  • Hebrew: מגוון
  • Swedish: mängd
  • Catalan: varietat
  • Telugu: వివిధ
  • Danish: bred vifte
  • French: variété
  • Turkish: çeşitlilik
  • Hungarian: fajta
  • Malay: pelbagai

What Are Synonyms of Variety?

Several words have the same meaning as the word variety. If you feel that you have used the word variety too much in your writing or speech, you can opt to use one of the below synonyms from Power Thesaurus in place of the word variety.

Learning synonyms for words like variety is a great way to change up your normal speech and writing patterns to keep things interesting. 

  • array
  • assortment
  • brand
  • breed
  • cast
  • category
  • change
  • choice
  • class
  • classification
  • collection
  • description
  • difference
  • different
  • disparity
  • dissimilarity
  • diverse
  • diverseness
  • diversification
  • diversity
  • form
  • genre
  • genus
  • group
  • heterogeneity
  • kind
  • make
  • medley
  • miscellanea
  • miscellany
  • mixed bag
  • mixture
  • model
  • motley
  • multifariousness
  • multiplicity
  • nature
  • number
  • order
  • plurality
  • potpourri
  • quality
  • range
  • salmagundi
  • selection
  • several
  • smorgasbord
  • sort
  • species
  • stamp
  • strain
  • stripe
  • style
  • type
  • variance
  • variation

What Are Antonyms of Variety?

Several words also have the opposite meaning as variety, listed below from Power Thesaurus. You can study antonyms of words like variety to expand your vocabulary quickly. 

  • accuracy
  • acerbic
  • acid
  • affinity
  • analogy
  • answer
  • blade of grass
  • certainty
  • clarification
  • comparison
  • conformity
  • constancy
  • correction
  • defined band of
  • equality
  • evenness
  • explanation
  • explication
  • few
  • finite number of
  • handful of
  • harmony
  • homogeneity
  • homogeneousness
  • identity
  • insignificant amount
  • insignificant amounts of
  • insignificant degree of
  • insignificant percentage of
  • insignificant portion of
  • insignificant proportion of
  • insignificant share of
  • interpretation
  • invariability
  • key
  • likeness
  • limited amount of
  • limited array
  • monotone
  • parity
  • resemblance
  • sameness
  • similarity
  • similitude
  • uniformity

Conclusion

The definition of variety is a noun that either refers to a state of difference or discrepancy or a type or sort of something. The word variety is very common, and you will probably see it a lot in sentences written or spoken in the English language. 

Do you prefer having variety in your everyday life, or do you enjoy a more steady routine? You know what they say, variety is the spice of life!

Sources:

  1. Variety antonyms – 190 Opposites of Variety | Power Thesaurus 
  2. Variety synonyms – 1 699 Words and Phrases for Variety | Power Thesaurus 
  3. Variety Meaning | Best 23 Definitions of Variety | Your English Dictionary 
  4. Variety Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 
  5. Variety | Nice Translator