aberration

noun ab·er·ra·tion \ ˌa-bə-ˈrā-shən \

|Updated on: 25 Jun 2018

Examples: aberration in a Sentence

Definition of aberration

1 a : the fact or an instance of deviating or being aberrant especially from a moral standard or normal state

aberrations of character

b : something or someone regarded as atypical and therefore able be ignored or discounted

Harkins was to be regarded as an aberration among American military leaders …
—Neil Sheehan

The U.S. establishment treated this grassroots movement almost as an aberration, virtually ignoring it.
—Helen Caldicott

As for Putin's desire to lay waste to Chechnya, Western leaders largely dismiss it as an aberration …
—The New Republic

2 : failure of a mirror, refracting surface, or lens to produce exact point-to-point correspondence between an object and its image

chromatic aberration

… the telescope suffers from a serious focusing problem, a condition known as spherical aberration, which causes the point-like images of stars to be surrounded by fuzzy haze.
—M. Mitchell Waldrop

3 : unsoundness or disorder of the mind

4 : a small periodic change of apparent position in celestial bodies due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer

5 : an aberrant individual

—

aberrational

play \-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl\ adjective

- aberrational behavior
- They react, often in anger, to particular decisions but tend to regard them as aberrational rather than systemic failures.
- —Robert H. Bork

See aberration defined for English-language learners

See aberration defined for kids

Examples of aberration in a Sentence

Recently geneticists have taken a closer look at a genetic aberration previously considered rare … . The genes may be perfectly normal, yet there is a shortage or surplus of DNA sequences that may play a role in diseases that defy straightforward genetic patterns … —Melinda Wenner, Scientific American, June 2009
He did hit five homers for Texas in 1987, but that was an aberration. In no other major league season has he hit more than three, and last season he actually came up with a goose egg. —E. M. Swift, Sports Illustrated, 5 Apr. 1989
Gilliard's studies of numerous bird of paradise species brought them from the realm of exotic aberrations to the forefront of sociobiology. —Jared M. Diamond, Nature, 24-30 Sept. 1981
For her, such a low grade on an exam was an aberration.
a study of sexual aberration

Recent Examples of aberration from the Web

With all due respect to John Astin and Tim Curry, who have also played the character, all other interpretations of Gomez were aberrations in my mind.

— ella cerón, Teen Vogue, "The Addams Family's Gomez Addams Was My First Glimpse of Latinx Representation," 15 June 2018
Nearly half of all people who had healthy eyes before Lasik developed visual aberrations for the first time after the procedure, the trial found.

— author: roni caryn rabin, Anchorage Daily News, "Blurred vision, burning eyes: This is a Lasik success?," 12 June 2018
And yet Minnesota has done little to change the thinking that last season’s playoff appearance was one-year aberration.

— ryan divish, The Seattle Times, "Mariners Sunday mailbag: Answering the Robinson Cano questions, plus a look at playoff competition," 11 June 2018
To allies & friends: Be patient, Mr. Trump is a temporary aberration.

— jonathan allen /, NBC News, "With Trump, politics no longer stops at the water's edge," 10 June 2018
The Marlins' tradition is thin, those 1997 and 2003 World Series title outliers, aberrations.

— greg cote, miamiherald, "Marlins' 25th Anniversary Weekend underlines Derek Jeter's obligation to heal deep wounds," 9 June 2018
The question going forward is whether Thursday was an aberration or the new par for Trump.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "From conspiracy theories to 'shithole' countries: Trump's thoroughly absurd Thursday," 12 Jan. 2018
In the course of NBA history, this was not exactly an aberration.

— mike finger, San Antonio Express-News, "For the next Pop, nothing taken for granted," 26 May 2018
The Fighting Indians are out to prove the last two years were an aberration and not the shape of things to come.

— wells dusenbury, Sun-Sentinel.com, "State lacrosse preview: 10 things to watch for with St. Andrew's, Jupiter and American Heritage-Delray," 10 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of aberration

borrowed from Latin aberrātiōn-, aberrātiō "diversion, relief," from aberrāre "to wander away" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at ¹aberrant

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1588

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year