1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

aberrant 1 of 2

adjective

a-ˈber-ənt How to pronounce aberrant (audio)
Definition of aberrantnext
1
as in unusual
being out of the ordinary a year of aberrant weather—record rainfall in the summer, record heat in the autumn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abnormal
departing from some accepted standard of what is normal aberrant behavior can be a sign of rabies in a wild animal

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

aberrant

2 of 2

noun

as in deviant

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of aberrant
Adjective
Making the aberrant choice stand out all the more was that Season 2 didn’t get to finish on its own terms. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 May 2026 The question may seem aberrant, something a dimwit or sadistic mother might ask her charge during toilet training, but Americans do regard living writers as both needlessly and necessarily strange. — Literary Hub, 22 Apr. 2026
Noun
An adventure without a modicum of agenda, absent any aspirations, aberrant or apposite. — Padgett Powell, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for aberrant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aberrant
  1. unusual
  2. abnormal
  3. deviant
  4. extraordinary
  5. unnatural
  6. eccentric
  7. exceptional
  8. unique
Adjective
  • Voters are deeply concerned about income disparity but also skeptical about the unusual approach of the billionaire tax.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The incident adds an unusual detail to the growing record of autonomous AI behavior.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of unusual
Adjective
  • About 30% of California remained free of drought or abnormal dryness.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • If these genes stop working, abnormal cells may survive and multiply.
    — MD Published, Verywell Health, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of abnormal
Noun
  • This boosts the rank, and by experimenting with this mechanic, players can uncover mutations and deviants, the rarest and most powerful variants.
    — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Tolerating deviant behavior is the same as saying that behavior is acceptable.
    — Julie Kratz, Forbes.com, 25 Feb. 2026
Definition of deviant
Adjective
  • Movies bring audiences across the country the unique magic of sitting with their neighbors to see extraordinary stories told on the big screen at their local cinema.
    — Paul Gunsky, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Speed At All Costs The cars of the early 1990s were extraordinary machines, bristling with active suspension and aerodynamic wizardry.
    — Jessica Vitiritti, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of extraordinary
Adjective
  • Generated by an internal large language model (LLM), OpenAI’s proof relies on an approach that many experts find unnatural.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Some deepfakes still have telltale flaws such as unnatural facial movements, lip-sync glitches, robotic speech or awkward pauses — but the technology is rapidly improving, a spokesperson for the organization said.
    — Emily Elconin for CNN, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of unnatural
Noun
  • The public reckonings with these figures’ legacies—the troubled former child star gone too soon, the beloved icon, the cult favorite, the complicated eccentric—have come in a cascade.
    — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Make sure to practice a full range of motion with these and emphasize the eccentric (the way down) part of the movement for maximal time under tension and muscle-building stimulus.
    — Jakob Roze, HEALTH, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of eccentric
Adjective
  • The machines typically used to compress fuel must deliver enormous bursts of energy with exceptional precision.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The formula’s lead ingredient, soybean ferment extract, is an exceptional resurfacing agent—improving skin’s texture, tone, and radiance without any harsh side effects.
    — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of exceptional
Adjective
  • This unique propagation gives rise to wave trajectories with directional rotation, or handedness, which dictates whether paths rotate clockwise or counterclockwise.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Season two goes a little differently than season one, because the music exec in charge of casting the show (Ashley Padilla) is being lightly blackmailed by two … unique candidates (Jane Wickline and new cast member Grace Reiter).
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of unique

Browse Nearby Words

abecedarians
aberrant
aberrants
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Aberrant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aberrant. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fungible

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All