variability

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   How much something changes from one time or case to another.

   Grammar: Usually uncountable: there is a lot of variability in the results.

   Patterns

   • variability in something
   • variability of something

   There is a lot of variability in rainfall from year to year.

   Doctors noted the variability of symptoms between patients.

   Weather variability makes planning crops hard.

2. 2noununcountabletechnicalmathematics

   In statistics, the extent to which data values are spread out rather than clustered around the average.

   Grammar: Often discussed alongside the mean, range and standard deviation.

   Patterns

   • variability in the data

   The study measured variability in test scores.

   High variability means the numbers are widely spread.

   The sample showed little variability.

Common combinations

high variability

The results showed high variability.

reduce variability

New methods reduce variability in quality.

natural variability

Natural variability makes climate trends hard to see.

variability in performance

Variability in performance worried the coach.

seasonal variability

Seasonal variability affects sales.

Synonyms and how they differ

variation

Variation is a single difference or change, while variability is the general tendency to vary.

fluctuation

Fluctuation means up-and-down movement over time, which is narrower than variability.

diversity

Diversity describes a range of different kinds, not change over time.

inconsistency

Inconsistency sounds negative, implying unreliability, unlike neutral variability.

Opposites

Word family

variable adjective

likely to change

variable noun

something that can change in value

vary verb

to change or differ

variation noun

a difference or change

variably adverb

in a changing way

Commonly confused: variability or variety?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “variability”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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