Distinguish "Varied", "Various" and "Varying"

Question

When I read newspaper, I'm sometimes confused with "Varied", "Various" and "Varying".

They all are adjectives and express the meaning of "difference".

Can you help me out?

Thank you in advance.

Btw: Was I right as I used "they all are..."? Or it should be "they are all..."?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Sure, I will try to help you out. I am a native English speaker and former ESL teacher -- an American living in Canada. And I was looking for an answer to the same question when I found your page.

I think it's a great question, and so I've given it some thought and here is how I have chosen to explain it. I hope it helps.

You were right, but it's even better to say:

"They are all adjectives that express the meaning of "difference".

I'll repeat them in the same sentence.

The scarves come in various colors.

The scarves come in varying colors.

The scarves come in varied colors.

The scarves come in various colors.

Let's start with the most natural-sounding, to my ears.
It is something a salesperson would say.
There is a wide choice of colors -- too many to name.
You are sure to find the color you are looking for.

The scarves come in varying colors.

This is not something a person is likely to say.
You are more likely to see this in small print on an ad.
Maybe the colors are not consistent from shipment to shipment.
Sometimes the orange is more yellow, sometimes it's more red.

The scarves come in varied colors.

This one is more challenging to imagine.
Perhaps each scarf is multicolored. No two are the same.
Or it could be a synonym of various.
In any case there must be a less confusing way to say what is really meant.

Anonymous · Answer

You have explained it very well. However, for the third sentence which I personally think is an incorrectly structured one. The scarves came in varied colors might be what you meant to say. it means that you ordered some red scarves online, but you received them in different colors other than red.

Siddharth Jain · Answer

In the following sentence what is the correct option?

because zebras have (blank), photos can be used to identify them when captured.

options:
varied striped patterns or
varying stripe patterns

The correct answer is varying stripe patterns, could you please the reason for the same?

Anonymous · Answer

Although either could be correct, I would suggest "varied striped patterns" is the best in this instance (see correct answer at top).  The writer is attempting to convey the fact that the pattern varies among zebra individuals, but is constant for a particular zebra and can be used to identify that individual.  "Varying stripe patterns" implies the patterns are not so consistent on an individual and would not be a useful means of identifying.

Distinguish "Varied", "Various" and "Varying"

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