aberrant

[ uh-ber-uhnt, ab-er- ]

adjective

1. departing from the right, normal, or usual course.

   Synonyms: wandering

2. deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type; exceptional; abnormal.

   Synonyms: unusual, divergent

noun

1. an aberrant person, thing, group, etc.

aberrant

/ æˈbɛrənt /

adjective

1. deviating from the normal or usual type, as certain animals from the group in which they are classified
2. behaving in an abnormal or untypical way
3. deviating from truth, morality, etc

Derived Forms

• abˈerrance, noun

Other Words From

• ab·errance ab·erran·cy noun
• ab·errant·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of aberrant¹

First recorded in 1820–30, aberrant is from the Latin word aberrant- (stem of aberrāns, present participle of aberrāre to deviate). See ab-, errant

Word History and Origins

Origin of aberrant¹

rare before c19: from the present participle of Latin aberrāre to wander away

Example Sentences

At last, this aberrant set of back-to-back NBA seasons nears its ending, possibly a hopeful ending of good basketball and growing crowds.

From Washington Post

If there’s any good news for the Twins in this, it’s that some of these performances have been so aberrant that they’ll probably even out a bit over the rest of the season.

From FiveThirtyEight

Speaking of teams that could be looking to bounce back from an aberrant 2020, don’t be surprised if the Washington Mystics rise quickly in our Elo depending on how soon Elena Delle Donne comes back this season.

From FiveThirtyEight

Ornithologists have referred to them as “aberrant falcons” and “a rather unimpressive lot,” with Falconidae’s so-called true falcons—including peregrines—hogging all the research.

From Outside Online

It’s not hard to see how aberrant activity in these regions could contribute to symptoms of depression and anxiety.

From Nautilus

Turmeric could have important abilities in healing and preventing brain damage—or this could be an aberrant finding.

From The Daily Beast

Herman Cain: For the first time, he seemed to acknowledge that there is something aberrant about his candidacy.

From The Daily Beast

In the apes and lemurs, on the contrary, the ground-dwellers are the aberrant forms, stray wanderers from the host.

From Project Gutenberg

These aberrant lines are much more common in the dramatic blank verse of the seventeenth century.

From Project Gutenberg

In the second case an aberrant artery was given off from the radial side of the brachial artery, again almost at its origin.

From Project Gutenberg

This aberrant artery anastomosed below the elbow-joint with the radial side of the radial artery.

From Project Gutenberg

There was another article on aberrant cases—a few strange little misbehaviors in classical syndromes.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abnormal