normality

[ nawr-mal-i-tee ]

noun

, plural nor·mal·i·ties

1. conformity to the standard, typical, or average level, rate, condition or set of conditions, characteristics, behavior, etc.:

   Any assumption of a quick return to normality and business as usual is premature.

   Surprising as it may sound, simple changes to your bed and lifestyle could prove to be the difference between severe pain and normality.

2. Chemistry. the concentration of a solution relative to that of a normal solution, one that contains one equivalent weight of the solute per liter:

   Since gram equivalent weight is the measure of the reactive capacity of a molecule, the solute's role in the reaction determines the solution's normality.

3. Statistics. the fact or property of showing a frequency distribution representable by a normal curve, a symmetrical bell-shaped curve:

   To confirm the statistical validity of the model I ran a number of diagnostics, checking for observations of influences and for normality of the distribution.

Word History and Origins

Origin of normality¹

First recorded in 1830–40; normal ( def ) + -ity ( def )

Example Sentences

Fox News was quick to slap a veneer of normality on Trump’s aspirations of erecting a Nazi-like regime in his image.

From Los Angeles Times

I thought about that a lot, and at one point I gave a paper at an anthropology meeting about the cultural definitions of normality and pregnancy, and there’s a discussion of that in the book.

From Salon

As Bangladesh begins a phase of rebuilding its bruised political institutions, normality is slowly returning to the streets.

From BBC

Teachers and parents tried to keep a sense of normality, with music playing while smiling students were welcomed by a sea of flowers.

From BBC

Eight years later, after a coup attempt, the Covid pandemic, malignant normality, near economic collapse, and general chaos the American people are exhausted by it all.

From Salon

Related Words

• ordinariness
• uniformity