atypical

atyp·i·cal | \ (ˌ)ā-ˈti-pi-kəl

Definition of atypical

1 : not typical : irregular, unusual an atypical form of a disease atypical weather for this area

2 medical : relating to or being an antipsychotic drug (such as risperidone) that tends to produce fewer adverse side effects on movement (such as dyskinesia) than previously used antipsychotic drugs (such as haloperidol) Atypical antipsychotics work more precisely, manipulating both dopamine and serotonin and suppressing symptoms without causing so many associated problems.— Jeffrey Kluger

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Examples of atypical in a Sentence

the postal service delivered the package with atypical speed since that's an atypical response for an infant, you might want to have her hearing tested

Recent Examples on the Web Were yearly deaths of about 450 typical, or might 1919 be atypical? — baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Carroll Yesteryears: ‘Ripe for the picking': Contagious diseases nothing new to Carroll County," 8 Aug. 2020 The ongoing and atypical offseason for the Bowl Subdivision has prevented teams from engaging in the traditional flow of activities. — Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, "Big Ten slows down preseason football practices; no pads or full contact," 8 Aug. 2020 Although this desire is not atypical of a young adult trying to figure herself out in the world, her status as a young Black woman complicates the question of who might finally offer her that affirmation. — Lovia Gyarkye, The Atlantic, "How to Write an Imperfect Black Woman," 7 Aug. 2020 Law school graduates preparing for the upcoming bar exams in Texas have already had an atypical experience. — Shannon Najmabadi, ExpressNews.com, "Texas lifts tampon ban at bar exam after complaints over discriminatory policy," 2 Aug. 2020 In the place of its usual catalogue of several million words of fiction, book reviews, essays, and miscellanea, as well as at least as voluminous an archive of reader commentary, was a single post of atypical brevity. — Gideon Lewis-kraus, The New Yorker, "Slate Star Codex and Silicon Valley’s War Against the Media," 9 July 2020 From an invisible gecko to a blorpie fish, these atypical animals are a testament to natural selection. — Rebecca Ratcliffe, Wired, "A Bird’s Epic Migration Stuns Scientists and Wins Online Fans," 4 July 2020 Such a steep price drop-off is atypical even outside the usual end-of-year holiday shopping season, when all sales—legitimate and fraudulent—tend to be highest, Alforov said. — Robert Hackett, Fortune, "Demand for stolen credit cards has dropped in the pandemic," 1 July 2020 Asteroid strikes were an extreme example of the world’s wilful ignorance, perhaps—but not an atypical one. — The Economist, "The next catastrophe Politicians ignore far-out risks: they need to up their game," 25 June 2020

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

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Last Updated

12 Aug 2020

Cite this Entry

“Atypical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atypical. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020.

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More Definitions for atypical

atypical

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of atypical

: not typical : not usual or normal

See the full definition for atypical in the English Language Learners Dictionary

atypical

adjective

atyp·i·cal | \ ˈā-ˈti-pi-kəl

Kids Definition of atypical

: not usual or normal : not typical an atypical case

atypical

adjective

atyp·i·cal | \ (ˈ)ā-ˈtip-i-kəl

Medical Definition of atypical

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : not typical : not like the usual or normal type The procedure, ductal lavage, washes cells from the milk ducts, where 95 percent of breast cancers start. Tests can then be performed to look for atypical or abnormal cells.— Judith Groch, The New York Times, 20 Nov. 2001 The results of treatment of patients with gallstones are less successful in individuals with atypical pain patterns or painless dyspepsia … — The Journal of the American Medical Association, 24 Feb. 1993 In some patients with atypical dysgenesis, the smear may show slight proliferation.— George L Wied et al., Compendium on Diagnostic Cytology, 1976

2 : relating to or being an antipsychotic drug (such as aripiprazole and risperidone) that tends to produce fewer adverse side effects on movement (such as akathisia or dyskinesia) than previously used antipsychotic drugs (such as haloperidol) Atypical antipsychotics work more precisely, manipulating both dopamine and serotonin and suppressing symptoms without causing so many associated problems.— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 19 Aug. 2002 Although studies indicated that the atypical drugs are similar to the conventional drugs in reducing psychotic symptoms and produce few neurologic effects, the evidence of their superior efficacy has been neither consistent nor robust …— Jeffrey A. Lieberman et al., The New England Journal of Medicine, 22 Sept. 2005

atypical

noun

Medical Definition of atypical (Entry 2 of 2)

: an atypical antipsychotic drug ((see atypical entry 1 sense 2)) Her 24-year-old daughter, diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1993, had problems with two types of atypicals before a third proved successful.— Stephaan Harris, USA Today, 28 June 1999

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