aberrant

adjective

Save Word

ab·er·rant | \ a-ˈber-ənt

, ə-, -ˈbe-rənt; ˈa-bə-rənt

, -ˌber-ənt, -ˌbe-rənt \

Definition of aberrant

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : deviating from the usual or natural type : atypical, abnormal aberrant behavior I don't intend to suggest that his psychology was in some way aberrant or neurotic …— Michael Chabon

2 : straying from the right or normal way aberrant misfits

aberrant

noun

Definition of aberrant (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a group, individual, or structure that is not normal or typical : an aberrant group, individual, or structure

2 : a person whose behavior departs substantially from the standard

Other Words from aberrant Synonyms & Antonyms Did you know? More Example Sentences Learn More About aberrant

Other Words from aberrant

Adjective

aberrance \ a-ˈber-ən(t)s

, ə- , -ˈbe-rən(t)s ; ˈa-bə-rən(t)s

, -ˌber-ən(t)s , -ˌbe-rən(t)s \ noun

aberrantly adverb

Examples of aberrant in a Sentence

Adjective The stones, silvered in the moon's aberrant light, shone like spectral tombs, and the figures, which Dalgliesh knew were Helena, Lettie and the Bostocks, became discarnate shapes disappearing into the darkness. — P. D. James, The Private Patient, 2008 … as if he had happily spied an aberrant crocus amid the wintry gray scene of Presidential impeachment. — Francis X. Clines, New York Times, 8 Jan. 1999 … at the brief and aberrant moment in time when it was possible to believe that America owed its great place in the world to its military and moral virtue rather than to the weight of its currency. — Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, March 1992 a year of aberrant weather—record rainfall in the summer, record heat in the autumn aberrant behavior can be a sign of rabies in a wild animal

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective After 100 days, the researchers found these rats were more likely to have developed aberrant crypt foci—clusters of abnormal glands in the lining of the colon and rectum—than were rats given regular drinking water. — Sam Jones, Scientific American, 29 July 2022 The Scottish study suggests that all three factors combine to explain the hepatitis cases: An adenovirus infection and a tag-along AAV2 infection, one of which triggers an aberrant immune response in children with a genetic predisposition. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 25 July 2022 The series is, in many ways, preoccupied with aberrant embodiment, and with dramatizing and satirizing the workings of the body. — Crispin Long, The New Yorker, 12 July 2022 Indeed, aberrant weather around the world is close to becoming the new predictable weather in its unpredictability. — Llewellyn King, Forbes, 5 July 2022 So many of your books show people behaving in absurd, aberrant, or seemingly deluded ways—and this, to me, is why your characters always feel so human. — Elizabeth Nicholas, Vogue, 15 June 2022 As the plot progresses, Casey immerses herself more and more in the videos of other players, and her own behavior becomes more and more aberrant. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 1 May 2022 But the plaintiffs had an ace up their sleeve: an aberrant Ninth Circuit standard for when the ADA preempts general state laws. — Glenn G. Lammi, Forbes, 16 June 2022 However, unlike most others who create antibodies that bind to aberrant protein, Mead and colleagues designed an antibody that stabilizes the normal protein precursor. — William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 9 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'aberrant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for aberrant

Adjective

borrowed from Latin aberrant-, aberrans, present participle of aberrāre "to wander away, stray, go wrong," from ab- ab- + errāre "to wander, drift, be in error" — more at err

Noun

noun derivative of aberrant entry 1