variety

noun

va·​ri·​e·​ty və-ˈrī-ə-tē 

plural varieties

1

: the quality or state of having different forms or types : multifariousness

2

: a number or collection of different things especially of a particular class : assortment

3

a

: something differing from others of the same general kind : sort

b

: any of various groups of plants or animals ranking below a species : subspecies

4

: variety show

Synonyms

• assortment
• diverseness
• diversity
• heterogeneity
• heterogeneousness
• manifoldness
• miscellaneousness
• multifariousness
• multiplicity
• variousness

Examples of variety in a Sentence

I was surprised by the variety of the choices that were available.

My life needs more variety.

Recent Examples on the Web

This new process can allow a wide variety of shapes and geometries. —Gairika Mitra, Interesting Engineering, 27 June 2024

There are plenty of retailers that sell sunglasses online, with some that specialize in boutique and unique frames, and other more general retail markets that sell a variety of sunglass brands, shapes, and prices, like eyebuydirect.com and sunglasshut.com. —Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 27 June 2024

In recent years, generative AI models have made accessible a variety of tools able to generate hyperrealistic videos, compose humanlike songs and create conversational chat agents, among other tasks. —Angela Yang, NBC News, 27 June 2024

Kings general manager Monte McNair said his offseason work is far from over while addressing a variety of subjects Wednesday following the first round of the NBA draft. —Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 27 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French or Latin; Middle French varieté, borrowed from Latin varietāt-, varietās, from varius "having contrasting colors, various entry 1" + -etāt- -etās, variant of -itās -ity

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing variety

• garden-variety
• sub-variety
• variety is the spice of life
• variety meat
• variety show
• variety store

Kids Definition

variety

noun

va·​ri·​ety

və-ˈrī-ət-ē

plural varieties

1

: the quality or state of having different forms or types

2

: a number or collection of different things : assortment

3

a

: something differing from others of the class to which it belongs

b

: any of various groups of plants or animals within a species that are separated from other groups by characteristics not constant enough or too unimportant to separate species

Medical Definition

variety

noun

va·​ri·​e·​ty və-ˈrī-ət-ē 

plural varieties

: any of various groups of plants or animals ranking below a species : subspecies