variation vs thing

variation and thing both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
variation	Yes	No	No	No
thing	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, thing is a hypernym of variation; that is, thing is a word with a broader meaning than variation:

variation (noun)	thing (noun)
an activity that varies from a norm or standard	a separate and self-contained entity
the act of changing or altering something slightly but noticeably from the norm or standard	an action
(ballet) a solo dance or dance figure	an artifact
an artifact that deviates from a norm or standard	an entity that is not named specifically
something a little different from others of the same type	any attribute or quality considered as having its own existence
a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished	a special abstraction
an instance of change; the rate or magnitude of change	a special objective
(biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration	a vaguely specified concern
(astronomy) any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite (especially a perturbation of the earth's moon)	a statement regarded as an object
the process of varying or being varied	an event
the angle (at a particular location) between magnetic north and true north	a persistent illogical feeling of desire or aversion
	a special situation