English → Latin
“vary” in Latin
mūtōto move, remove; to alter, change, modify, transform; to vary, diversifysubmūtōto change, exchange, interchange or substitute one thing for anothervariōto diversify, variegate, change, transform, make different or various, alter, vary, interchange; to be diversified or vadistinguōto distinguish; to separate, divide or part; to adorn or decorateconvertōto turn upside-down; to invert; to turn over (soil etc); to turn back or recoil
The English word vary itself goes back to Latin varius, through variō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
vary
Transitively, mutare (to cause one of two things to take place of the other): submutare (of a partial change): variare (so that sometimes one, sometimes the other has place): distinguere (to introduce an agreeable variety). (The words are found in this connection and order.) variare et mutare; variare et distinguere. To vary labor with recreation or rest, graviora opera lusibus jocisque distinguere; variare otium labore, laborem otio.
Intransitively, mutari: variari, or variare (to change backward and forward; especially of the weather; also of opinions and reports, ita fama variat, ut, etc. Liv.; variat sententia, Ov.; variatis sententiis, Cic.): converti (to turn round, for better or worse). Not to vary, sibi constare; a se non decedere.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for vary?
- The usual Latin words for “vary” are mūtō, submūtō, variō; also distinguō, convertō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.