variest

Verb

vary (third-person singular simple present varies, present participle varying, simple past and past participle varied)

1. (transitive) To change with time or a similar parameter.
   • He varies his magic tricks so as to minimize the possibility that any given audience member will see the same trick twice.
2. (transitive) To institute a change in, from a current state; to modify.
   • You should vary your diet. Eating just bread will do you harm in the end.

   Synonyms:

   alter

3. (intransitive) Not to remain constant: to change with time or a similar parameter.
   • His mood varies by the hour.

   Synonyms:

   fluctuate

4. (intransitive) To display differences.
   • The sprouting tendency of potatoes varies between cultivars, years and places of growing.
5. (intransitive) To be or act different from the usual.
   • I'm not comfortable with 3.Nc3 in the Caro-Kann, so I decided to vary and play exd5.
6. (transitive) To make of different kinds; to make different from one another; to diversify; to variegate.
   • God hath[…] varied their inclinations.1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC

See all 9 meanings of vary