All 3 Uses of
vary
in
Howards End
- In all the variable years that followed she never saw the like of it again.†
Part 4variable = able to changestandard suffix: The suffix "-able" in variable means able to be. This is the same pattern you see in words like breakable, understandable, and comfortable. Note that when "-able" is placed at the end of a word that ends in "Y", the "Y" is often replaced with "I" as in enviable and deniable.
- Her conclusion was, that any human being lies nearer to the unseen than any organisation, and from this she never varied.†
Part 4 *varied = differed; or changed
- Not anything in detail—not courtship or early raptures—but just the unvarying virtue, that seemed to him a woman's noblest quality.†
Part 11unvarying = consistent or the samestandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unvarying means not and reverses the meaning of varying. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
Definition:
to be different, or to change
Vary is often used to describe small differences or changes--especially about things of the same type. It would be more common to say "The weight of full-grown elephants varies depending upon diet and other factors," than to say "The weight of elephants varies from that of mice."