Aberrant

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈbɛɹ.ənt/

Definitions

1. Deviating from what is normal, typical, or expected in behavior or character
2. Straying from established norms or standard patterns in conduct or nature
3. Departing from conventional or usual standards through irregular or atypical behavior

Etymology: Aberrant began as a literal description of wandering off course. Its Latin source, "aberrans," is the present participle of "aberrare," meaning "to go astray" or "to err," built from "ab" ("from") and "errare" ("to wander"). The same "errare" root gives us "err" and "error," so the word shares its ancestry with ideas of straying and mistake. For centuries the sense stayed close to that physical image. A thing that was aberrant had wandered from its proper path, whether a planet, a river, or a traveller. The move to describing behaviour or character came later, as the word's sense of departing from a norm was extended from places and courses to people and their conduct.

Synonyms: deviant, abnormal, unusual, irregular

Antonyms: normal, typical, standard