aberrant

American  

[uh-ber-uhnt, ab-er-] / əˈbɛr ənt, ˈæb ər- /

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

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noun

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

aberrant British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• aberrance noun
• aberrancy noun
• aberrantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of aberrant

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

Explanation

Use the adjective aberrant to describe unusual conduct. Sitting in a bathtub and singing show tunes all day long might be considered aberrant behavior. For conduct that departs from the norm, aberrant is at hand to describe it if you want to set a formal, or even scientific tone to the discussion. You can put the accent on either the first syllable (AB-er-ent) or the second (uh-BER-ent); both pronunciations are acceptable. The Latin root aberrare means "to go astray," from the prefix ab- "off, away" plus errare "to wander." Other descendants of errare in English, like error and errant, have that double -r- and also refer to something that's either not wanted or not expected.

Example Sentences

The implication that aberrant personality disorders might not be the exclusive purview of humans.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Judge Alan Schneider said during Monday's hearing that his behaviour when he was arrested was "aberrant from his normal conduct", his lawyer Christy O'Connor told BBC News after the hearing.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

Ending the survey allows the government to preserve a different story, one in which scarcity is aberrant and prosperity is the norm, and any evidence to the contrary can be written off as exceptional.

From Salon • Sep. 25, 2025

He hoped doing so might help him improve treatments for cardiac arrhythmias — aberrant rhythms of the heart — that can prove dangerous and even deadly.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2024

“If we don’t distinguish our heartache—don’t at least attempt to work through it, you understand—it tends to pop up later. In different ways, aberrant ways.”

From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore

Related Words

• abnormal