variant spelling
Different written form
A variant spelling is an alternative way of writing a word that carries the same meaning: colour for color, grey for gray, donut for doughnut.
Variants often reflect regional differences—British versus American English—or simply coexist without clear preference.
Some variants are standard; others mark informal or nonstandard usage.
- alternateOccur in succession
- orthographyStandard writing conventions
- colourVisual wavelength property
- grayNeutral achromatic hue
- honourEthical standing and dignity
honor roll · deviation · archaic · dialect · British · American · standardize · dictionary · letter · phonetic · reform · American English · British English · anachronism · modernize · quirk · olde · theatre
- crosswordsacross, cryptic, acrostic, clues, codeword
- dictionariesdictionary, dictionaries, definitions, definition, entries
- dialectsregional dialect, local dialect, patois, vernaculars, vernacular
- dictionary partsdefinition, words, entry, definitions, part of speech
- dictionary termsOxford, Merriam-Webster, thesaurus, lexicon, glossary
- language varietiesdialect, idiolect, sociolect, vernacular, accent
variant spellingstandard spelling
Agreed-upon word forms
correct spelling · typo · misspelling · spelling error · spelling mistake
variant, variation, variable, variability, variance, varied, varying, invariant, variably