deviation

1 of 3

noun (1)

de·​vi·​a·​tion ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən 

: an act or instance of deviating: such as

a

navigation : deflection of the needle of a compass caused by local magnetic influences (as in a ship)

b

mathematics : the difference between a value in a frequency distribution and a fixed number (such as the mean)

c

: departure from an established ideology or party line

deviation from Communist orthodoxy

d

: noticeable or marked departure from accepted norms (see norm sense 2) of behavior

deviationism

ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shə-ˌni-zəm 

noun

deviationist

ˌdē-vē-ˈā-sh(ə-)nist 

noun or adjective

deviationist

2 of 3

noun (2)

de·​vi·​a·​tion·​ist -sh(ə)nə̇st 

plural -s

: one who departs from the principles of an organization (such as a political party) with which he or she is affiliated

deviationists in Communist countries

deviationist

3 of 3

adjective

: of or relating to deviationism or deviationists

Synonyms of deviation

Noun (1)

• departure
• detour
• divergence
• deflection

Examples of deviation in a Sentence

Noun (1)

There have been slight deviations in the satellite's orbit.

Having juice instead of coffee was a deviation from his usual routine.

The pattern's deviation from the norm is significant.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

City staff told commissioners the ninth floor was a code deviation the developers requested in exchange for giving a new school and playground to Crystal Academy, along with the public courtyard. — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 8 July 2026

There are also significant deviations from US civilian law, said law professor Joshua Kastenberg on The Conversation. — Will Barker, TheWeek, 8 July 2026

Observability surfaces deviation without preventing the wrong action from occurring, and those become meaningfully different things once AI systems move from informing decisions to making them. — Jay Limburn, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

In the book, the Senator is a man — Paul Thurman — but Yost previously confirmed that the show makes significant deviations from the source material. — Katie Mannion, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

see deviate entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing deviation

• mean deviation
• mean square deviation
• standard deviation

Rhymes for deviation

• ablation
• aeration
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation

Kids Definition

deviation

noun

de·​vi·​a·​tion ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən 

: an act or instance of deviating: as

a

: the difference found by subtracting some fixed number (as the arithmetic mean of a series of statistical data) from any item of the series

b

: noticeable difference from accepted standards (as of behavior or morals)

Medical Definition

deviation

noun

de·​vi·​a·​tion ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən 

: an act or instance of diverging from an established way or in a new direction: as

a

: evolutionary differentiation involving interpolation of new stages in the ancestral pattern of morphogenesis

b

: noticeable or marked departure from accepted norms of behavior