aberrant
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Straying from the right way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
abehruhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
æˈbɛɹənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
sometimes figuratively
Straying from the right way; deviating from morality or truth.
Differing from the norm.
botanyzoology
Deviating from the ordinary or natural type; exceptional; abnormal.
noun
A person or object that deviates from the rest of a group.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (sometimes figuratively) Straying from the right way; deviating from morality or truth.
While 'deviant' describes someone or something that deviates, 'aberrant' often focuses on a specific instance of straying from the norm, rather than a consistent characteristic. It sounds more formal than just 'wrong'.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Medical reports
“The patient exhibited aberrant behavior, causing concern among staff.”
Scientific journals
“Researchers studied the aberrant growth patterns in the plant samples.”
Crime fiction
“Detectives looked for any aberrant details in the suspect's story.”
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Straying
Behavior
Other combinations
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: person
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.