While I agree the word could be appropriate, I'm asking a meta question about how it is typically used, and whether or not we're conveying something unintention

While I agree the word could be appropriate, I'm asking a meta question about how it is typically used, and whether or not we're conveying something unintentional by using it in this context as well. I don't consider "variants" a good thing because I lived through a few years of COVID.