Word.ws English Dictionary

vary

UK/ˈvɛəɹi/

More pronunciations (2)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈvɛːɹɪj/

vary verb: to change with time or a similar parameter.

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.
    • We are to vary the customs according to the time and country where the scene of action lies.1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC
  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.
    • a. 1687, Edmund Waller, to Phyllis
      Gods, that never change their state, / Vary oft their love and hate.
    Synonyms:
    alter
  3. (intransitive) Not to remain constant: to change with time or a similar parameter.
    • His mood varies by the hour.
    • The sine function varies between −1 and 1.
    Synonyms:
    fluctuate
  4. (intransitive) To display differences.
    • The sprouting tendency of potatoes varies between cultivars, years and places of growing.
    • In the new layout, it is proposed to provide three island platforms with six platform faces varying from 1,075 to 1,290 ft. in length and including bays.1960 February, “The modernisation of Peterborough”, in Trains Illustrated, page 108
  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
    • God hath here / Varied his bounty so with new delights.1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
  7. (transitive) To embellish; to change fancifully; to present under new aspects, as of form, key, measure, etc. See variation.
  8. (intransitive, obsolete) To disagree; to be at variance or in dissension.
    • the rich jewel which we vary for1623, John Webster, The Devil's Law Case

Noun

vary (uncountable)

  1. (obsolete) alteration; change.
    • With euery gall, and varry of their Masters,c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...

vary meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam

vary in Tamil

மாற்றுப்படுத்து, வகைமாற்று, வேற்றுமைப்படுத்து, மாறுதல்

vary in Urdu

بدل جانا, انحراف کرنا, بدل دینا, دکھاوے, شکل بدل دینا

vary in Bengali

বিভিন্ন করা, পরিবর্তিত হওয়া, পরিবর্তিত করা, বিভিন্ন হওয়া, বিসদৃশ হওয়া

vary in Malayalam

രൂപഭേദം വരുത്തുക, ആകൃതിമാറ്റുക, വ്യത്യാസപ്പെടുക
More languagesFewer languages
vary in Kannada
ಮಾರ್ಪಡು, ಬದಲಾಗು, ಬೇರಾಗು, ಮಾರ್ಪಡಿಸು

Examples of vary in a sentence

  • The battery lasts a day in my phone, but your mileage may vary.
  • I think that red dress looks really good on you, but your mileage may vary, of course.
  • The force required to compress a spring varies linearly with the displacement.

All 40 example sentences with vary

Synonyms of vary

All synonyms of vary

Forms of vary

third-person singular presentvaries
present participlevarying
past participlevaried
pastvaried

Past tense of vary: varied

Origin of vary

From Middle English varien, from Old French varier, from Latin variō (“to change, alter, make different”), from varius (“different, various”); see various.

Words formed from vary

Phrases with vary

Words that rhyme with vary

19 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about vary

What does vary mean?
Vary means to change with time or a similar parameter.
What is vary in Tamil?
Vary in Tamil is மாற்றுப்படுத்து, வகைமாற்று, வேற்றுமைப்படுத்து. See Vary meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is vary?
Vary can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce vary?
Vary is pronounced /ˈvɛəɹi/ (UK).
What is the past tense of vary?
The past tense of vary is varied.

Words near vary in the dictionary

  1. varvel
  2. varveled
  3. varvelled
  4. varvels
  5. varves
  6. vary
  7. Varyag
  8. Varyags
  9. varyation
  10. varyations
  11. varying

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: vary (page history and authors); vary (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vary (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vary (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vary (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vary (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “vary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/vary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.