different between mixed vs variety

English

Etymology

From mix, equivalent to mix +? -ed. Compare Middle English mixid (“mixed”, past participle), Old English miscode (“mixed”, preterite). More at mix.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?kst/
• Rhymes: -?kst

Verb

mixed

1. simple past tense and past participle of mix

Adjective

mixed (comparative more mixed, superlative most mixed)

1. Having two or more separate aspects.

   I get a very mixed feeling from this puzzling painting.

2. Not completely pure, tainted or adulterated.

   My joy was somewhat mixed when my partner said she was pregnant: it's a lot of responsibility.

3. Including both male(s) and female(s).

   The tennis match was mixed with a boy and a girl on each side.

   My son attends a mixed school, my daughter an all-girl grammar school.

4. Stemming from two or more races or breeds

   The benefit dog show has both mixed and single-breed competitions.

   Mixed blood can surprisingly produce inherited properties which neither parent showed

Synonyms

• (having two or more separate aspects): heterogeneous (See also Thesaurus:heterogeneous); (feelings) ambivalent, conflicted, equivocal
• (not pure): impure
• (including both males and females): co-ed, unsegregated
• (stemming from two or more races or breeds): hybrid, mongrel

Antonyms

• (having two or more separate aspects): homogeneous, unmixed; See also Thesaurus:homogeneous
• (not pure): pure
• (including both males and females): single-sex
• (stemming from two or more races or breeds): pedigree, pure, pureblooded, purebred

Derived terms

Related terms

• mixer
• mixture

Translations

Anagrams

• demix

English

Alternative forms

• variëty (rare)

Etymology

From Middle French varieté, from Latin variet?s (“difference, diversity”), from varius (“different, various”); see various. Displaced native Old English misl?cnes.

Pronunciation

• enPR: v?-r???-t?, IPA^(key): /v???a?.?.ti/
• Rhymes: -a??ti
• Hyphenation: va?ri?e?ty

Noun

variety (countable and uncountable, plural varieties)

1. The quality of being varied; diversity.

   Antonym: sameness

2. A specific variation of something.
3. A number of different things.

   Synonyms: array, assortment

4. A state of constant change.
5. (taxonomy) A rank in a taxonomic classification, below species (infraspecific), either below subspecies (subspecific) or ranked comparably therewith.
6. (cybernetics) The total number of distinct states of a system.
7. (cybernetics) Logarithm of the base 2 of the total number of distinct states of a system.
8. (linguistics) A term used for a specific form of a language, neutral to whether that form is a dialect, accent, register, etc. and to its prestige level.
9. (algebra, universal algebra) An equational class; the class of all algebraic structures of a given signature, satisfying a given set of identities.
10. (algebraic geometry) An algebraic variety.
11. The kind of theatrical entertainment given in variety shows.
12. The production of, or performance in, variety shows.

Synonyms

• (quality of being varied): See also Thesaurus:nonuniformity
• (algebraic geometry): algebraic variety
• (universal algebra): equational class, equational variety, variety of algebras

Hyponyms

• (specific variation of something): cultivar

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• species
• (cybernetics: logarithm): information entropy

Further reading

• variety in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• variety in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.