# variable vs variance

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### variable
*adjective · IPA [ˈvɛə.ɹi.ə.bl̩] · frequency rank #5,925*
Able to vary or be varied.

### variance
*noun · IPA /ˈvɛə.ɹi.əns/ · frequency rank #16,158*
The act of varying or the state of being variable.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/variable-vs-variance