DEVIANTS Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

deviants

noun

plural of deviant

as in bohemians

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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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 deviants Cool people aren't merely deviants. — Caleb Warren, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for deviants

Noun

For Jia, who has watched generations of Chinese talents develop in a variety of ways, his hope is for these Chinese mavericks playing in America to stay.

— Fred He, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
Carl Anka Trent Alexander-Arnold’s England career is a fascinating case study in why team sports can prefer the orthodox to the mavericks.

— The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 13 May 2026

Definition of mavericks

Noun

Ghosts have gone more mainstream than vampires, no longer grouped with the other weird freaks— the zombies and the werewolves, that paranormal genre once ascribed only to lovers of the macabre.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
But the stage that Springer cultivated was a gleeful one, a tacky spectacle of shock and depravity, an ungodly home for the freaks who knew just what to do when the lights came on.

— Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of freaks

Noun

No documentarian has a better eye for intriguing oddballs than Errol Morris, who built his feature film career on drawing them out in conversation, from pet-cemetery owners in Gates of Heaven to small-town eccentrics in Vernon, Florida.

— Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Dippold has populated the show with lovable eccentrics played by great character actors—Dale Dickey, Jeff Hiller, Tim Baltz.

— Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 18 June 2026

Definition of eccentrics

Noun

At least Guillén still speaks his mind on the Sox’s pre- and postgame shows, so maybe there’s hope for nonconformists after all.

— Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
At the same time, the conception of Poe the writer seems to tap into a cultural affection for outsiders, nonconformists and underdogs who ultimately prove their worth.

— Scott Peeples, The Conversation, 19 Jan. 2023

Definition of nonconformists

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deviant

deviants

deviate

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“Deviants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deviants. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of deviants

noun

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