Meaning & use
variance
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable or uncountabletechnical
A statistical measure of how spread out a set of values is from their average.
Grammar: Often used with 'the' or in plural 'variances' in technical contexts.
Patterns
- variance of something
- calculate the variance
The variance of the data set is 25.
A high variance indicates that the numbers are spread out.
nouncountable or uncountable
A difference or disagreement between two things that should match.
Grammar: Often used in phrases like 'at variance with' or 'a variance between'.
Patterns
- variance between A and B
- at variance with something
There is a variance between the two reports.
His actions are at variance with his words.
Word forms
| plural | variances |
|---|
Common combinations
- at variance with
- The results are at variance with our expectations.
- variance between
- We noticed a variance between the two measurements.
- calculate the variance
- First, calculate the variance of the sample.
- high variance
- The investment has high variance, so it's risky.
Synonyms and how they differ
- difference
- Difference is the general word for how things are not the same; variance is more formal and often used in statistics or official contexts.
- discrepancy
- Discrepancy suggests an unexpected inconsistency, often between two sets of figures; variance can be a planned or measured difference.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: variance or variation?
variance vs variation
Variation is a change or slight difference; variance is a specific statistical measure or a formal disagreement.
Practice
In statistics, what does 'variance' measure?
Choose one answer.
Variance measures how spread out the values are from the mean. The average is the mean, the middle value is the median, and the most frequent value is the mode.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “variance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.