deviant
deviant Lexical Profile
deviant Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Departing from usual or accepted standards, especially in social, moral, or psychological behavior.
"Sociologists often examine how different cultures define and respond to deviant behavior."
• noun
A person or thing that departs sharply from accepted social, moral, or statistical norms.
"Historical figures who challenged strict societal rules were often labeled as deviants by their contemporaries."
Word Nuance & Usage
While used neutrally in sociology and statistics to describe departures from a norm, in everyday speech "deviant" (especially as a noun) carries a strong pejorative connotation of moral or behavioral perversion.
• Rhymes for deviant
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin devians, the present participle of deviare ("to turn out of the way"), formed from de- ("off, away from") and via ("road, way").