as in abnormal
departing from some accepted standard of what is normal
some studies show that many violent criminals begin exhibiting deviant behavior in early childhood
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in maverick
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
branded as social deviants by a society that did not value self-expression
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deviant
Time, 21 Nov. 2025
From Psycho to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to The Silence of the Lambs, Gein’s macabre legacy gave birth to fictional monsters born in his image and ignited a cultural obsession with the criminally deviant.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 25 Jan. 2026
Meanwhile, a deviant killer operating in the yakuza underworld seems to be shadowing their moves.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 1 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deviant
Adjective
Crucially, Margaret Hamilton’s iconic Wicked Witch used her phallic broom to stalk her prey — marking her both deviant and masculine, challenging the wizard through her independence and mobility.
—Time, 21 Nov. 2025
From Psycho to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to The Silence of the Lambs, Gein’s macabre legacy gave birth to fictional monsters born in his image and ignited a cultural obsession with the criminally deviant.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
Among them is a singer (Kiernan Shipka) making a living as an exotic dancer, who, after becoming Sheridan’s victim, joins them in their battle to rein in the young deviant.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 25 Jan. 2026
Meanwhile, a deviant killer operating in the yakuza underworld seems to be shadowing their moves.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 1 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deviant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deviant
Adjective
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Stray dogs aren’t an abnormal occurrence but Sierra had something most stray dogs didn’t.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 May 2026
-
Goenka said one signature of early cancer that the AI model was able to detect is abnormal cells in the pancreas that shelter and protect cancer from the body’s immune defenses.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC news,
2 May 2026
Noun
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Ted Turner, the maverick businessman and philanthropist who turned a financially struggling Atlanta TV station into a media empire around CNN, the first 24-hour cable news station, has died.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
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Besides more on maverick Turner’s death, talking about that transaction was kind of the point today of anyone really listening to the soon-to-exiting WBD execs.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
6 May 2026
Adjective
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With the house emptied of living (and costumed) guests, its furnishings, in all their liveliness, appear only to mask an unnatural torpor.—
Olivia Kan-Sperling,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
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The time was unnatural, sometime after midnight.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Noun
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But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
2 May 2026
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The town’s overflowing with charming Midwest eccentrics, including a cocky mayor (Henry Winkler) and a welcoming barkeep (Lena Headey).—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deviant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deviant. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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