Varies

How to spell varies

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce varies

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does varies mean?

1. verbDiffers or changes from one instance, time, or place to another (third-person singular of vary).

Varies in a sentence

• The ticket price varies depending on the season.

• Quality varies widely between the cheaper suppliers.

Where does varies come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is a present-tense form of the verb 'vary', which English took from the Old French verb 'varier' in the 1300s. That French word descended directly from the Latin verb 'variare', meaning 'to change' or 'to make different', which was built on the adjective 'varius', literally 'spotted, mottled, diverse'. The original image was of something patchy or many-coloured, and from that idea of unevenness came the broader sense of differing or fluctuating. The same Latin root sits inside the everyday words 'variety', 'various' and 'variable', all sharing that core notion of difference. The spelling trap in 'varies' comes from the standard English rule that a verb ending in a consonant plus 'y' swaps the y for 'ie' before the ending, turning 'vary' into 'varies' rather than the tempting but wrong 'varys'.

How the word is built

• vari- (from Latin varius: diverse, changing)
• -es (third-person singular present ending, with y changing to i)