Definition of various

< variorum

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var·i·ous    (vâr-s, vr-) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:

1. 1. Of diverse kinds: for various reasons.
   2. 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.

PRONOUN:
Usage Problem (used with a pl. verb)

Several different people or things.

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ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin varius

OTHER FORMS:
vari·ous·ly(Adverb), vari·ous·ness(Noun)
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.