deviant

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈdiːviːənt/ UK /ˈdiː.vi.ənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #23995

Meanings

1

adj
Differing sharply from what is normal or socially accepted.

The study examined the causes of deviant behavior in teenagers.
2

noun
A person whose behavior departs from accepted social or moral norms.

He was branded a deviant and shunned by the community.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · differing sharply from what... aberrant

2 noun · a person whose behavior... degenerate

More anomaly irregularity maverick nonconformist outlier

Word family

Forms deviants

Derived forms deviantizationdeviantizenondeviantphenodeviant

Etymology

From Middle English devyaunt (“deviating, different”), from Late Latin dēviāns, present participle of dēviō (“to stray, deviate or detour”). The noun is from the adjective, possibly attested in Middle English with the meaning “one who goes astray”. * (DeviantArt member): So called because the website was originally for people who modified (deviated) computer applications.

devyaunt Middle English dēviāns la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# deviant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdiːviːənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdiː.vi.ənt/
**Frequency rank:** 23995

## Meanings
1. Differing sharply from what is normal or socially accepted.
2. A person whose behavior departs from accepted social or moral norms.

## Examples
- The study examined the causes of deviant behavior in teenagers.
- He was branded a deviant and shunned by the community.

## Synonyms
- anomaly
- irregularity
- maverick
- nonconformist
- outlier

## Derived Forms
- deviantization
- deviantize
- nondeviant
- phenodeviant

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: devyaunt
- Root: dēviāns

## Etymology
From Middle English devyaunt (“deviating, different”), from Late Latin dēviāns, present participle of dēviō (“to stray, deviate or detour”). The noun is from the adjective, possibly attested in Middle English with the meaning “one who goes astray”. * (DeviantArt member): So called because the website was originally for people who modified (deviated) computer applications.

## AI Etymology
Deviant is from Middle English devyaunt (“deviating, different”), from Late Latin dēviāns, present participle of dēviō (“to stray, deviate or detour”). The noun is from the adjective, possibly attested in Middle English with the meaning “one who goes astray”. * (DeviantArt member): So called because the website was originally for people who modified (deviated) computer applications. Important recorded forms include devyaunt (Middle English) and dēviāns (la-lat). Current senses include differing sharply from what is normal or socially accepted and a person whose behavior departs from accepted social or moral norms. The wider family includes derived forms such as deviantization, deviantize, nondeviant, and phenodeviant.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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