variance
/ˈvæɹ.i.əns/noun
variance is spelled V-A-R-I-A-N-C-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, variance means “The act of varying or the state of being variable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of variance is variances.
How many letters and syllables are in variance?
| Letters | 8: V-A-R-I-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is variance?
Variance appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce variance?
- UK /ˈvɛə.ɹi.əns/
- UK /ˈvɛː.ɹi.əns/
- US /ˈvæɹ.i.əns/
Variance has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-variance.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-variance.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with variance?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as variance from its last stressed vowel (/æɹiəns/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of variance
- variances plural
- var
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does variance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of varying or the state of being variable.
- 2
A difference between what is expected and what is observed; deviation.
- 3
The state of differing or being in conflict.
- 4
An official permit to do something that is ordinarily forbidden by regulations.
- 5
A discrepancy between two legal documents.
- 6
A departure from a cause of action originally in a complaint.
- 7
The second central moment in probability; the square of the standard deviation.
- 8
The number of degrees of freedom in a system.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate variance?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of variance: var.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Variance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does variance come from?
From Middle English variance, variaunce, equivalent to vary + -ance, from Old French variance or directly from Anglo-Latin variaunce, veriaunce, wariaunce; all from Latin variantia.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).