See Also: variance(dictionary)
Variance(medicine)
variance(dictionary)
Variance(finance)
Variance(money)
Variance rule(money)
Portfolio variance(finance)
Variance rule(finance)
Variance swap(finance)
Variance (statistics)(health)

variance (iou)



variance noun. ME.
[Old French from Latin variantia, from variare VARY verb: see -ANCE.]
The fact or state of undergoing change or alteration; tendency to vary or become different. ME.
Sir T. Browne It being reasonable for every man to vary his opinion according to the variance of his reason.
b. Inconstancy (of a person). LME-E16.
The fact or quality of differing; difference, divergence, discrepancy. Freq. in at variance, inconsistent, incompatible, (foll. by with, occas. to). LME.
O. Sacks The patient..maintains a set of..attitudes wholly at variance with the realities of her position. Fremdsprachen Variances in linguistic..matters became criteria for discrimination. Oxford News A party..too dictatorial to allow a variance of opinion within its ranks.
The state or fact of disagreeing or quarrelling; enmity, dissension, contention, debate. Freq. in at variance, in disagreement, in conflict, (foll. by with, from). LME.
J. Agate I find myself at variance with New York opinion.
b. Opposition or antagonism to something. rare. M19.
A disagreement, a quarrel, a dispute, formerly esp. one leading to legal action between parties. Now rare or obsolete. LME.
A difference, a discrepancy, esp. (Law) between two statements or documents. LME.
b. US Law. An official dispensation, esp. from a building regulation. E20.
The fact of changing or varying from a state, opinion, etc.; an instance of this. Long rare. LME.
a. Statistics. A measure of the variation of a set of quantities from the mean, equal to the square of the standard deviation. E20.
b. Economics. The difference between actual and expected costs, profits, output, etc. M20.
Phrases: at variance: see senses 2, 3 above. in variance (a) forming a subject of debate, contention, or legal action; (b) = at variance (see sense 3 above).