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various

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
var·i·ous  (vâr-s, vr-)
adj.
1.
a. Of diverse kinds: for various reasons.
b. Unlike; different.
2. Being more than one; several.
3. Many-sided; versatile: a person of various skills.
4. Having a variegated nature or appearance.
5. Being an individual or separate member of a class or group: The various reports all agreed.
6. Archaic Changeable; variable.
pron. Usage Problem (used with a pl. verb)
Several different people or things.

[From Latin varius.]

vari·ous·ly adv.
vari·ous·ness n.
Usage Note: The use of various as a pronoun, as in various of the committee members spoke out against the measure, is widely regarded as an error. Eighty-six percent of the Usage Panel finds this sentence unacceptable, a figure not much different from the 91 percent who rejected the various of construction in 1967. The Panel is somewhat more tolerant of the construction when it is used with inanimate objects rather than people. Seventy percent objected to its use in the phrase ownership of the lake and various of its tributaries and effluents. It is not clear why this usage should be regarded as an error, since it is analogous to the use of quantifiers such as few, many, and several.

various
Adjective
1. several different: there are various possible answers to this question
2. of different kinds: the causes of high blood pressure are various and complicated [Latin varius changing]
variously adv
USAGE: The use of different after various should be avoided: the disease exists in various forms (not in various different forms).
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.variousvarious - of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity; "assorted sizes"; "his disguises are many and various"; "various experiments have failed to disprove the theory"; "cited various reasons for his behavior"
different - unlike in nature or quality or form or degree; "took different approaches to the problem"; "came to a different conclusion"; "different parts of the country"; "on different sides of the issue"; "this meeting was different from the earlier one"
2.variousvarious - considered individually; "the respective club members"; "specialists in their several fields"; "the various reports all agreed"
individual, single - being or characteristic of a single thing or person; "individual drops of rain"; "please mark the individual pages"; "they went their individual ways"
3.various - distinctly dissimilar or unlike; "celebrities as diverse as Bob Hope and Bob Dylan"; "animals as various as the jaguar and the cavy and the sloth"
different - unlike in nature or quality or form or degree; "took different approaches to the problem"; "came to a different conclusion"; "different parts of the country"; "on different sides of the issue"; "this meeting was different from the earlier one"
4.variousvarious - having great diversity or variety; "his various achievements are impressive"; "his vast and versatile erudition"
varied - characterized by variety; "immigrants' varied ethnic and religious traditions"; "his work is interesting and varied"

various
adjective 2. many, numerous, countless, several, abundant, innumerable, sundry, manifold, profuse
USAGE The use of different after various, which seems to be most common in speech, is unnecessary and should be avoided in serious writing: the disease exists in various forms (not in various different forms).
Translations
Spanish various [ˈvɛərɪəs] adjvarios/as, diversos/as;
at various times (= different) → en distintos momentos (= several); varias veces

French various [ˈvɛərɪəs] adjdivers(e)différent(e) (= several); divers, plusieurs;
at various times (= different) → en diverses occasions (= several); à plusieurs reprises

German various [ˈvɛərɪəs] adj (reasons, people) → verschiedene;
at various times (different) → zu verschiedenen Zeiten;
(several) → mehrmals, mehrfach

Italian various [ˈvɛərɪəs] adjvario/a, diverso/a (= several); parecchi/e, molti/e;
at various times → in momenti diversi (= several); diverse volte

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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
It was of lesser height than that on which the Castle was situated; but it was so placed that it commanded the various hills that crowned the ridge.
I propose to treat of Poetry in itself and of its various kinds, noting the essential quality of each; to inquire into the structure of the plot as requisite to a good poem; into the number and nature of the parts of which a poem is composed; and similarly into whatever else falls within the same inquiry.
The average life expectancy of a Martian after the age of maturity is about three hundred years, but would be nearer the one-thousand mark were it not for the various means leading to violent death.
 
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