(immunology) The mechanism by which an infectious organism changes its surface proteins in favor of circumventing a host immune response.

(economics) The measure of how much money a consumer would pay before a price increase, to avoid the price increase.

(journalism, literature) A form of journalese characterized by the overuse of synonyms for fear of repeating a word.

(statistics) the proportion of cases not in the mode

(military, nautical, navigation) In navigation, at a given place and time, the horizontal angle between the true north and magnetic north measured east or west according to whether magnetic north lies east or west of true north.

A compass of delicate construction, used in observations on the variations of the needle.

plural of variation compass

(genetics) The variation of the number of copies (normally two) of a gene, or of sequences of DNA, in the genome of a specific individual; has been linked to some diseases