anomaly

noun anom·a·ly \ ə-ˈnä-mə-lē \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of anomaly

plural anomalies

1 : something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified : something anomalous

They regarded the test results as an anomaly.

2 : deviation from the common rule : irregularity

3 : the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sun

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Examples of anomaly in a Sentence

In approximately 10% of patients, autism can be explained by genetic syndromes and known chromosomal anomalies (most of which have recognizable features in addition to autism) … —Lauren A. Weiss et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 14 Feb. 2008
Eleven minutes may not sound like much when you're waiting for a table at your favorite restaurant, but in the course of centuries, eleven minutes and change become a formidable chunk of time. By the 1300s, those superfluous minutes had added up to hours, then days, then more than a week. The calendar was losing time, irrevocably, to the "real" year, slipping further and further behind in its measurement of the earth's orbit. Anomalies began to creep into what had been the certainties of life. The spring equinox—one of two moments in the year when day and night are of equal length all over the earth, and which occurs on or about March 21—began to fall on March 16, then 15, then 14. —Michelle Stacey, Harper's, December 2006
Californians aren't the only ones vexed by rolling brownouts and other power-supply anomalies. Everyday power spikes, surges, sags, and line noise cause computers, stereo equipment, televisions, telephones, and other delicate electronic equipment to go psychotic or have complete nervous breakdowns. —Fortune, 25 June 2001
This policy may well have made sense back when steroid use was an anomaly. Now that bulking up with chemical help seems to be more popular than ever, it's incumbent on baseball to take action. —Steve Kettman, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2000
We couldn't explain the anomalies in the test results.
her C grade is an anomaly, as she's never made anything except A's and B's before

Recent Examples of anomaly from the Web

The scoreline is also an anomaly in fixtures between the two nations.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 10 Weeks to Go - The World Cries Foul as Peru Crumble Against Argentina in 1978," 13 Apr. 2018
Critically, the Nest has clean, uncluttered body panels and smooth lines that are an anomaly in the busy visual language favored by today’s carmakers.

— Bloomberg.com, "Airstream Sheds Its Metal With the New ‘Nest’," 12 Apr. 2018
But in huge data breaches, those people are a statistical anomaly.

— andrew ross sorkin, New York Times, "Failed by Facebook, We’ll Return to the Scene of the Crime. We Always Do.," 9 Apr. 2018
Sohn said the job losses last month in trade and transportation were likely an anomaly and not related to any fears of a trade war, though going forward, the sector could see a significant hit.

— andrew khouri, latimes.com, "California gains 14,000 jobs, and unemployment continues to fall," 23 Mar. 2018
This solid-gold period was an anomaly in Miller’s otherwise commercially marginal body of work steeped in Texas blues.

— rachel aviv, The New Yorker, "How Many Guitars Can Steve Miller Fit in His Closet?," 16 Mar. 2018
Critics of gun-control regulations say there’s no way to know that these laws are actually responsible for the eradication of mass shootings, and that other factors—or a statistical anomaly—could have played a role.

— amanda macmillan, Health.com, "9 Statistics That Prove Gun Violence Is a Public Health Issue," 14 Mar. 2018
In a fashion season where the average age for runway models hovered around 17, Tasha Tilberg was a welcome anomaly.

— janelle okwodu, Vogue, "At 38, Tasha Tilberg Is Once Again the Model of the Moment," 14 Mar. 2018
Maureen Kincaid, professor of education at North Central College in Naperville, said a fourth-grader performing that well on the ACT is an anomaly.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "Naperville 9-year-old earns near-perfect score on ACT college readiness test: 'He basically did it for fun'," 29 Mar. 2018

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