deviation
noun
de·vi·a·tion
ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən 
: an act or instance of deviating: such as
a
navigation
: deflection of the needle of a compass caused by local magnetic influences (as in a ship)
b
mathematics
: the difference between a value in a frequency distribution and a fixed number (such as the mean)
c
: departure from an established ideology or party line
deviation from Communist orthodoxy
d
: noticeable or marked departure from accepted norms (see norm sense 2) of behavior
Examples of deviation in a Sentence
There have been slight deviations in the satellite's orbit.
Having juice instead of coffee was a deviation from his usual routine.
The pattern's deviation from the norm is significant.
Recent Examples on the Web
One reason is that even the most consistent data will – even should – show an occasional deviation.
—
Derek Newton, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Given all these natural deviations, a CGM may not be able to tell you anything especially useful about your health.
—Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 19 June 2025
The second uses a tuning algorithm to adapt to changing environmental inputs and correct deviations in real-time.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
Through fishing and cooking. Podcast Transcript Editor’s Note: Transcriptions of episodes of the Outside Podcast are created with a mix of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain some grammatical errors or slight deviations from the audio.
—Outside Online, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for deviation
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.
Derek Newton, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Given all these natural deviations, a CGM may not be able to tell you anything especially useful about your health.
—Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 19 June 2025
The second uses a tuning algorithm to adapt to changing environmental inputs and correct deviations in real-time.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
Through fishing and cooking. Podcast Transcript Editor’s Note: Transcriptions of episodes of the Outside Podcast are created with a mix of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain some grammatical errors or slight deviations from the audio.
—Outside Online, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for deviation
Cite this Entry
“Deviation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deviation. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
deviation
noun
de·vi·a·tion
ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən
: an act or instance of deviating: as
a
: the difference found by subtracting some fixed number (as the arithmetic mean of a series of statistical data) from any item of the series
b
: noticeable difference from accepted standards (as of behavior or morals)
Medical Definition
deviation
noun
de·vi·a·tion
ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən
: an act or instance of diverging from an established way or in a new direction: as
a
: evolutionary differentiation involving interpolation of new stages in the ancestral pattern of morphogenesis
b
: noticeable or marked departure from accepted norms of behavior
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share