vary

The word "vary" is used when there are differences among things or people. When they have different qualities and features, they vary.

• The climate in California varies. It depends on where you are in the state.
• Results from our experiments varied. (We got several different results.)
• Opinions on the topic of gun control vary.
• There are varied opinions on this topic. (The word "varied" in this sentence is an adjective.)
• His account of what happened last night varies from her version of events.
• The personalities of the children in that family vary.

Related to the word "vary" are a few other words. The first one is "variety." The word "variety" is a noun. Use it when talking about many different things:

• There’s a variety of fruit and vegetables at our local grocery store.
• There isn’t much variety on this radio station. All the music sounds the same.
• There are several different varieties of paint to choose from at the hardware store.

The word "various" is an adjective. This is a popular word to use when describing differences:

• Picasso mastered various styles in creating his artwork.
• Mary gave various reasons for why she was late, so no one believed her.
• In our backyard we have various trees and plants.

The artwork at this gallery varies.

There’s a variety of artwork at this gallery.

(Note: The word "very" is an adverb. This is a completely different word.)

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This page was first published on April 27, 2012. It was amended on February 22, 2015.