discrepancy, variance, variant: an event that departs from expectations form, variant, strain, var.: (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms" random_variable, variate, variant, stochastic_variable, chance_variable: a variable quantity that is random version, variant, variation, edition: something a little different from others of the same type; "an experimental version of the night fighter"; "an emery wheel is a modern variant of the grindstone"; "the boy is a younger edition of his father" variant: differing from a norm or standard; "a variant spelling"