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covariance

Upper-Intermediate (B2)

IPA: /ˈkoʊvəreɪns/

KK: /ˈkoʊvəˌreɪns/

noun
Definition

A statistical term that describes how two random variables change together. It shows whether increases in one variable tend to be associated with increases or decreases in another variable.


Example

In statistics, covariance is used to determine the relationship between two variables.


Conversation
Sloth A
Have you ever heard of the term covariance?
Sloth B
Yeah, I think it's related to statistics, right?
Sloth A
Exactly! It's a measure of how two variables change together, like height and weight.
Sloth B
That makes sense; understanding covariance can really help in data analysis.

Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
correlation
association
co-variation
Antonyms
independence
disassociation
divergence
Root Explanation

Covariance → It is formed from "co-" (meaning together) and "variancia" (from Latin "varians", meaning varying or changing). The word describes the measure of how two variables change together, indicating their joint variability.

Memory Tip

Think of two things changing 'together' ('co-') and how they 'vary' ('variancia') — that's what covariance measures.

Visually Confused Words
variance
ovarian
invariance
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