Which to use
“variation” and “variations” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,312
- “variation” frequency rank
- #6,198
- “variations” frequency rank
- 12510
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | variation | variations |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing. | plural of variation |
Where the eye mixes variation and variations
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: variation vs variations
A purely visual mix-up. variation (/ˌvɛəɹɪˈeɪʃn̩/) and variations (/ˌvɛɹiˈeɪʃənz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “variation” sits inside “variations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12510, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
variation is recorded at frequency rank #6,312, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌvɛəɹɪˈeɪʃn̩/. variations is at rank #6,198, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌvɛɹiˈeɪʃənz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 12510, this pair ranks #481,157 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of variation vs variations
Shared letters: ainortv. Private to "variation": -. Private to "variations": s.
"variation" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVVC · "variations" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- variation ← avriation · vairation · varaition · variaiton · variasion · variatino · variationn · variatoin
- variations ← avriations · vairations · varaitions · variaitons · variatinos · variationns · variationss · variatiosn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "variation" and "variations" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "variation" or "variations" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "variation" and "variations" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "variation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "variations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #481,157 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "variation" and "variations" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "validation vs variation". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #481,157 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.