# variance vs variant

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

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

### variant
*adjective · IPA /ˈvɛəɹi.ənt/ · frequency rank #9,981*
Showing variety, diverse.

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