# variance

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈvɛə.ɹi.əns/ · frequency rank #16,158

## Definitions
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.
9. Covariance and contravariance generally.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **variant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/variance-vs-variant)
- **variants** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/variance-vs-variants)
- **variable** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/variable-vs-variance)

## Common misspellings (12)
`avriance`, `vairance`, `varaince`, `variacne`, `variancce`, `varianec`, `variannce`, `varience`, `varinace`, `varriance`, `vraiance`, `vvariance`

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