aberrant

adjective

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ab·er·rant | \ a-ˈber-ənt

, ə-, -ˈbe-rənt; ˈa-bə-rənt

, -ˌber-ənt, -ˌbe-rənt \

Definition of aberrant

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : deviating from the usual or natural type : atypical, abnormal aberrant behavior I don't intend to suggest that his psychology was in some way aberrant or neurotic …— Michael Chabon

2 : straying from the right or normal way aberrant misfits

aberrant

noun

Definition of aberrant (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a group, individual, or structure that is not normal or typical : an aberrant group, individual, or structure

2 : a person whose behavior departs substantially from the standard

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Other Words from aberrant Synonyms & Antonyms Did you know? More Example Sentences Learn More About aberrant

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Other Words from aberrant

Adjective

aberrance \ a-ˈber-ən(t)s

, ə- , -ˈbe-rən(t)s ; ˈa-bə-rən(t)s

, -ˌber-ən(t)s , -ˌbe-rən(t)s \ noun

aberrantly adverb

Examples of aberrant in a Sentence

Adjective The stones, silvered in the moon's aberrant light, shone like spectral tombs, and the figures, which Dalgliesh knew were Helena, Lettie and the Bostocks, became discarnate shapes disappearing into the darkness. — P. D. James, The Private Patient, 2008 … as if he had happily spied an aberrant crocus amid the wintry gray scene of Presidential impeachment. — Francis X. Clines, New York Times, 8 Jan. 1999 … at the brief and aberrant moment in time when it was possible to believe that America owed its great place in the world to its military and moral virtue rather than to the weight of its currency. — Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, March 1992 a year of aberrant weather—record rainfall in the summer, record heat in the autumn aberrant behavior can be a sign of rabies in a wild animal

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective She’s a woman who does something very aberrant, very transgressive. — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2022 New work from the CUNY team shows an early glimpse of that possibility, while also revealing the difficulties involved in identifying what an aberrant signal means. — Maryn Mckenna, Wired, 14 Feb. 2022 And both suggest that the impulse to cheat, cut corners and get over on chumps, if not inflict harm upon them outright, is far from some aberrant pathology in the American identity but rather a constitutive force. — New York Times, 9 Feb. 2022 The Muon’s aberrant behavior, an extended quantum particle wobble, upends the Standard Theory, creating in Physics an existential wobble. — Judith K. Liebmann, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2022 Multiple members of the Trump circle have been forced to decide between appeasing and abetting their boss' aberrant behavior and constitutional vandalism and their own reputations. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 15 Dec. 2021 Details on what these companies consider aberrant behavior are scant, but Mark Cohen oversaw one of the first such policies, at Sears Canada in the mid-2000s. — Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2021 Sadly, estrangement or isolation feeds some of the aberrant, antisocial impulses that can make gang life and crime seem a natural choice. — cleveland, 22 Nov. 2021 Yet for disabled women, that norm is often treated as aberrant. — Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'aberrant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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History and Etymology for aberrant

Adjective

borrowed from Latin aberrant-, aberrans, present participle of aberrāre "to wander away, stray, go wrong," from ab- ab- + errāre "to wander, drift, be in error" — more at err

Noun

noun derivative of aberrant entry 1

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