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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of deviant
Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 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.
—Andrew McGowan, Variety, 27 Aug. 2025
Time, 21 Nov. 2025
Does this language assume that a particular body is normal, deviant, or in need of correction?
How are treatments framed?
—JSTOR Daily, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deviant
Adjective
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
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.
—Andrew McGowan, Variety, 27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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
Does this language assume that a particular body is normal, deviant, or in need of correction?
How are treatments framed?
—JSTOR Daily, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deviant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deviant
Adjective
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Look for choppy sentences, unusual inflections, abnormal phrasing, or incongruent background noise.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2026
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And their response to her is like, maybe that’s not abnormal [for Jackie].—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This isn’t the first time Tecovas has taken a maverick position.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
3 Mar. 2026
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In 1992, Ross Perot ran as a maverick presidential candidate on one major issue, the peril of huge debts, deficits and especially interest payments that were devouring the budget and leaving less and less money for the retirees, health care and defense.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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What people fail to realize, Harding said, is that the office is an investigative body that plays a role in uncovering the cause of unnatural deaths and also protecting the public.—
Shannon Tyler
March 6,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Mar. 2026
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The film is fiercely feminist, a little punk, more than a bit surreal, leaning much heavier on absurdist romance than horror and, ultimately, an unnatural force of nature.—
Mark Meszoros,
Boston Herald,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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On her trail are a Báthory relative who is vegetarian (Thomas Schubert), his psychotherapist (Lars Eidinger), two vampirologists, a police inspector and a gallery of eccentrics.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
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Catherine O’Hara portrayed ridiculous eccentrics with equal parts hilarity and humanity.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deviant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deviant. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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