distinction vs variance

distinction

noun
  • That which distinguishes; a single occurrence of a determining factor or feature, the fact of being divided; separation, discrimination. 

  • The act of distinguishing, discriminating; discrimination. 

  • Specifically, a feature that causes someone or something to stand out as being better; a mark of honour, rank, eminence or excellence; being distinguished. 

variance

noun
  • The state of differing or being in conflict. 

  • A discrepancy between two legal documents. 

  • A departure from a cause of action originally in a complaint. 

  • An official permit to do something that is ordinarily forbidden by regulations. 

  • The act of varying or the state of being variable. 

  • The number of degrees of freedom in a system. 

  • Covariance and contravariance generally. 

  • A difference between what is expected and what is observed; deviation. 

  • The second central moment in probability. 

How often have the words distinction and variance occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )