Definition of deviance
: deviant quality, state, or behavior
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Recent Examples of deviance from the Web
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In a typical Hollywood movie, important architecture, especially important modern architecture, would be a symbol of big-city sophistication (or even, as documentarian Thom Andersen and others have pointed out, of deviance or criminality).
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A barricade of deviance and grit kept much of the straight world out, protecting the neighborhood’s unconventional character.
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In places like John Calvin’s Geneva, efforts to enforce moral discipline ranged from the obvious (punishing sexual deviance) to the odd (making bibles available at pubs to encourage spiritual reflection).
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Her latest veers more toward the comic camp, exploring raunchy proclivities and unbelievable deviances in a trailer park of the near future.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deviance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of deviance
1941
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Learn More about deviance
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Britannica English: Translation of deviance for Arabic speakers
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