Nonconforming

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not adhering to established norms or standards in a given context
2. Marked by a distinct absence of conformity to typical beliefs or practices
3. Refusing to follow established guidelines or conventions

Etymology: The prefix "non-" and the verb "conform" are both ordinary English building blocks, so "nonconforming" is a plain compound: "non-" meaning "not," joined to "conforming," the present-participle form of "conform," which comes from Latin "conformare," "to shape together." Put together, the word means "not shaping oneself to a pattern or standard," and that is exactly how it is used today, for people, styles, and behaviour that depart from accepted norms. The "non-" element has an older and more tangled ancestry. Its distant roots reach back to a prehistoric word for "not" that also gave English "no" and "not," passing through Germanic forms and into Old English as "nān," a word meaning "not one." Over the centuries "nān" was worn down to "non-" in Middle English, and from there it became a freely attached prefix. Its shape is the same ancient root that produces "no" itself, so the first half of this word is, in a sense, a relative of the simplest negation in the language.

Synonyms: unorthodox, rebellious, dissenting, noncompliant, individualistic

Antonyms: conforming, compliant, submissive, obedient, traditional