Word
various
Phoneticsvar·i·ous
US/ˈvɛɹiəs/
UK/vˈeəɹɪəs/
Definitions
01different kinds
adj. many different types of something.
adj. consisting of different kinds; having a broad range of diverse elements.
“The shop sells various types of tea from all over the world.”
“The researchers explored various methods of data collection before deciding on a longitudinal study to capture long-term trends.”
Pitfall
The various of reasons were discussed.
Various reasons were discussed.
Various is an adjective, not a noun; do not use it with 'of' like you would with 'a variety of'.
02several
adj. more than one; several different ones.
adj. denoting more than one individual or item; used to refer to several different members of a group.
“I have lived in various cities across Europe during my career.”
“Various members of the committee expressed concerns regarding the budget, though no formal objection was recorded in the minutes.”
Antonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French varieux, from Latin varius (“manifold, diverse, various, parti-colored, variegated, also changing, changeable, fickle, etc.”). By surface analysis, vary + -ous.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.