anomaly

noun anom·a·ly \ ə-ˈnä-mə-lē \

Updated on: 15 May 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

Science Seawall-topping king tides occur when extra-high tides line up with other meteorological anomalies.

— adam rogers, WIRED, "How to Fight Climate Change: Figure Out Who's to Blame, and Sue Them," 4 May 2018
For BuzzFeed, Anne Helen Petersen profiles Idaho gubernatorial candidate and former state representative Paulette Jordan, whose left-of-center views are an anomaly in a region that has been a Republican stronghold for decades.

— danielle jackson, Longreads, "Could Paulette Jordan of Idaho Become the Country’s First Native American Governor?," 30 Apr. 2018
The scientists said the desert-like air is responsible for some anomalies.

— Fox News, "After brief relief, forecasts indicate drought will continue," 23 Apr. 2018
Many African Americans joined the organization for similar reasons and because of its diversity and racial integration, which are an anomaly in religious congregations to this day.

— angela helm, The Root, "40 Years Later, Jonestown Survivor Speaks Out on Massacre That Nearly Killed 1,000," 26 Feb. 2018
But the news came with some anomalies — the kind that skeptics might use to muddy the evidence that the planet is growing dangerously warmer.

— james rainey, NBC News, "Big snowfall, a cooler ocean and, yet, more signs of global warming," 21 Jan. 2018
But these meteorological anomalies present a great opportunity to investigate what happens out in the garden during cold weather.

— paul cappiello, The Courier-Journal, "What happens in your Kentucky garden during really cold weather," 5 Jan. 2018
But Henry isn’t an anomaly, here to make a statement outside of the text; Billy comes from the less segregated world of New York City, and his racial difference feels plausible.

— junot díaz, The New Yorker, "The Dark Fantasies of “Carousel”," 17 Apr. 2018
The massive mishandling of evidence—and, by extension, miscarriage of justice—that occurred in Detroit is not an anomaly.

— torey van oot, Glamour, "Mariska Hargitay’s New Documentary Is an Unflinching Look at America's Untested Rape Kits," 16 Apr. 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.