Skip to main content
variationally

variationally

8.9
Using changes in values to find the best solution in math
  • adverb
  • /ˌvɛəriˈeɪʃənəli/
  • Specialized
: variacionalmente
  • The main idea in most of the approaches is to use a basis of localized, variationally optimized functions.

Examples

  • The mortar method allows dealing with non-conforming discretizations within a variationally consistent formulation 56, 39.

    Academic text (2018)
  • So ER is derived from ER, PSI by essentially variationally removing PSI by minimizing over PSI.

  • Researchers variationally optimize the parameters to improve the model's accuracy.

  • The function must be variationally adjusted to accommodate the changing conditions.

  • In this study, the data was variationally assessed to identify key trends.

Surface Forms

variationally positive

Morphology

variationally = variational (transparent) = variation + al + ly

The adverb is formed by adding the productive adverbial suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'variational', so the step is a standard, transparent derivation.

Etymology

The word variationally comes from vary meaning 'to change' plus the endings -al and -ly, so it means 'in a way that studies changes'. In math and science, doing something variationally means you look at small changes to find which option makes a system best or most stable, which is why the origin fits the modern meaning.