Definition of deviant
deviant
nounPeople Are Reading
Examples of deviant in a Sentence
a study of deviant behavior among criminals
some studies show that many violent criminals begin exhibiting deviant behavior in early childhood
Recent Examples of deviant from the Web
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Scholars have described Mongolia as a paradox, an anomaly, and a least likely or deviant case of democratization.
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Like the parallel Nouvelle Droite school in France, the Neue Rechte considers itself a counter-revolution battling to correct the left’s wildly deviant course.
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Witches were shape-shifters, embodying the murky and limitless depths of human dread: darkness, death, sexual perversion, sickness, scarcity, deviant lines of power away from government and church.
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The more density, the more aggression and deviant behavior these rodents showed one another.
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Beyond protecting the vulnerable and deterring deviant behavior, these programs aim to guide people with autism toward strong, satisfying relationships.
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Offenders could be required to submit to plethysmograph testing, in which sensors are attached to their penis, in an effort to find out whether they were aroused by deviant imagery and sounds.
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In policy circles, the idea that black youths are deviant and deficient, an idea that shapes education, welfare and police practices today, has been fashionable for more than 50 years.
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Deviant Artist of the Day’ will no longer necessarily feature simply artists who have pages on Deviant Art.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deviant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
deviant & deviate
Deviant and deviate share a common root (the Latin deviare “to wander off the road, swerve, deviate”) and have some similarities in meaning, but they differ in notable ways. Deviant has functioned in English as an adjective (since the 15th century) and as a noun (since the early 20th century), in each case with a sense that suggests a straying from an accepted norm or from what is considered standard behavior. In contrast to deviant’s socially prescriptive connotations, the verb deviate often implies a less judgmental sense of swerving from the usual way (as in “he never deviated from his routine of drinking coffee with breakfast.”)
Origin and Etymology of deviant
see 1deviate
Other Psychology Terms
DEVIANT Defined for English Language Learners
deviant
playDefinition of deviant for English Language Learners
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: different from what is considered to be normal or morally correct
Medical Dictionary
deviant
Medical Definition of deviant
: something that deviates from a norm; especially : a person who differs markedly (as in social adjustment or sexual behavior) from what is considered normal for a group
Learn More about deviant
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for deviant Spanish Central: Translation of deviant Nglish: Translation of deviant for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of deviant for Arabic speakers
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