variant UK /ˈvɛəɹi.ənt/US /ˈvæɹi.ənt/adjective 4noun 4forms 3 adjective4 •Showing variety, diverse. •Showing deviation or disagreement. •Covariant and/or contravariant. •(no longer used) Variable. noun4 •Something that is slightly different from a type or norm.All breeds of dog are variants of the species “Canis lupus familiaris”. •A different sequence of a gene (locus).Most train operators have reduced services with emergency timetables, as they struggle to cope with a rapid increase in staff absences due to the Omicron variant of COVID. — 2022 •One of a set of words or other linguistic forms that conveys the same meaning or serves the same function.The word "kerosine" is a variant of “kerosene”. •A variable that can hold any of various unrelated data types. formsvariants · more variant · most variant