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to covary

to covary

8.7
To change at the same time as another thing so both increase or decrease
  • verb
  • /koʊˈvɛri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : covariar
  • Children's mathematical skills covary with certain indicators of their home environment, such as family income and maternal education (Downer & Pianta, 2006).
  • achievement scores normally covary
  • likely to covary

Examples

  • In the current study, two primary dependent variables were analyzed and, in general, demonstrated to covary inversely.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Furthermore, factor analytic procedures provide only an indication of those variables that covary.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Similar results were obtained when IQ was covaried in the analysis.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Thus, without covarying WMC in the analysis, no significant advantage was found for the Complete generative training condition.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The overall rates of disruptive behavior covaried positively with the rate of handraise/disruptive behavior across each phase of the study.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Age and years of experience were covaried because of differences between intramural, non-certified, and certified officials on these two variables.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Results indicate that each of the three domains of teacher-student interaction was predictive of higher student achievement test scores at the end of the year, even after covarying prior-year scores and relevant student and classroom characteristics.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Research shows that children's mathematical skills covary with certain indicators of their home environment, such as family income.

  • In our study, the results indicated that the overall rates of disruptive behavior covary positively with hand-raising across different classroom phases.

  • When analyzing the data, we found that several variables tend to covary in a predictable manner, revealing important relationships.

Synonyms

to co-vary
vsto covary
  • Specialized
8.2

To change together in a connected way, often at the same time

describes change of a variable that corresponds with another, not only simultaneous change

Surface Forms

covary infinitive
covaried past
covaried past participle
covarying present participle
covaries third person singular

Morphology

covary = vary (transparent) = co + vary

The verb is clearly formed from the productive prefix 'co-' meaning 'together' plus 'vary', yielding 'change together' which is directly inferable.

Etymology

Covary combines the prefix co- meaning 'together' and the verb vary meaning 'change'. So to covary is to 'change together', which is why a change in one thing is often matched by a change in another.