aberrant

adjective ab·er·rant \ a-ˈber-ənt , ə- , -ˈbe-rənt ; ˈa-bə-rənt , -ˌber-ənt , -ˌbe-rənt \

Definition of aberrant

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

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aberrance

play \-ən(t)s\ noun

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aberrancy

play \-ən(t)-sē\ noun

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aberrantly

adverb

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Examples of aberrant in a Sentence

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 of aberrant from the Web

An electrophysiologist placed tiny burn marks directly into the electrical system of the heart itself, permanently interrupting the aberrant electrical impulses caused by previous heart damage.

— david becker, Philly.com, "Medical mystery: A shocking heart ailment," 14 July 2017
The company, which does not want to be identified, finally got wise to the spying scheme thanks to Darktrace, a global cybersecurity company that uses artificial intelligence to detect aberrant activity on client networks.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "Record Number of Americans Expected to Hit the Roads Over 4th of July," 22 June 2017
To learn more, Tessmar-Raible and her colleagues kept bristle worms in plastic boxes, feeding them spinach and fish food, and simulating typical and aberrant moon cycles with an array of standard light bulbs and LEDs.

— ferris jabr, Smithsonian, "How Moonlight Sets Nature’s Rhythms," 22 June 2017
Absent those groups, attacks like the one on Westminster Bridge or at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub might more easily be treated as aberrant individual actions in the way that the attack on Muslims in London will be treated in some quarters.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "Why won’t Donald Trump rush to tweet criticism of attacks against Muslims?," 19 June 2017
Trey Davis: Dad's aberrant behavior has been in -- in the past has been chronicled quite extensively.

— CBS News, "Murder in the Mansion," 13 May 2017
That Rousso had apparently become ensnared in the deportation scheme of an aberrant government seemed the sort of spiralling historical irony that Rousso himself might have enjoyed analyzing.

— nathan heller, The New Yorker, "A Vichy Scholar Held in Houston," 1 Mar. 2017
Most had died from injury or disease associated with their captive conditions: foot and joint disease, reproductive disorders, infertility, aberrant behaviors such as infanticide.

— adam cruise, National Geographic, "More African Elephants May Be Sold to China This Year," 1 Jan. 2016

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.

Did You Know?

Something aberrant has wandered away from the usual path or form. The word is generally used in a negative way; aberrant behavior, for example, may be a symptom of other problems. But the discovery of an aberrant variety of a species can be exciting news to a biologist, and identifying an aberrant gene has led the way to new treatments for diseases.

Origin and Etymology of aberrant

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1536

See Words from the same year