variation
va·ri·a·tion/ˌvɛəɹiˈeɪʃn̩/noun
variation is spelled V-A-R-I-A-T-I-O-N, 4 syllables: va·ri·a·tion. The wrong spelling people search most is varyation: about 10 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 139 of all searches for the word. Variation is a noun meaning “The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing”. The plural of variation is variations.
How many letters and syllables are in variation?
| Letters | 9: V-A-R-I-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: va·ri·a·tion |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,230th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, varyation, about 10 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell variation?
Variation is spelled V-A-R-I-A-T-I-O-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 139 of the searches for variation in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is variation?
Variation appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,230th 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 variation?
- UK /ˌvɛəɹɪˈeɪʃn̩/
- US /ˌvɛəɹiˈeɪʃn̩/
- US /ˌvæɹiˈeɪʃn̩/
Variation has 4 syllables, split va·ri·a·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-variation.ogg, En-us-variation2.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with variation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as variation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃn/):
- information
- formation
- preparation
- presentation
- relation
- identification
- observation
- obligation
- simulation
- notification
- calculation
- reconciliation
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 variation
- variations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does variation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing.
- 2
A related but distinct thing.
When the process didn't work, we tried a variation.
- 3
The angular difference at the vessel between the direction of true north and magnetic north.
- 4
A line of play that differs from the original.
- 5
A technique where material is repeated with alterations to the melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, counterpoint or orchestration; but with some invariant characteristic, e.g. a ground bass.
- 6
The modification of a hereditary trait.
- 7
Deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body.
- 8
The situation where two or more linguistic forms appear in the same environment without a change in meaning, the choice of form being determined by factors of dialect, sociolect, register or simply the speaker's preference.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate variation?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of variation: var..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Variation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | variation , variante , déclinaison |
| German | Umbildung, Veränderung, Variation , Variante |
| Portuguese | variação , variante |
| Spanish | variación |
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 variation come from?
From Middle French variation, from Old French variacion, from Latin variātiō, from vary + -ation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).