as in abnormal
departing from some accepted standard of what is normal
some studies show that many violent criminals begin exhibiting deviant behavior in early childhood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in maverick
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
branded as social deviants by a society that did not value self-expression
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deviant
Christopher R. Browning, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2022
The Florida bill’s opponents are worried about a world in which teachers have no meaningful way to discuss the real world inhabited by their students, which risks leaving students with the impression that non-straight or non-gender-conforming individuals are somehow deviant.
—Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2022
Joseph S. Nye Jr., Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2010
After World War II, as middle-class white families left cities for spacious new suburban homes, SROs were increasingly stigmatized, viewed as shoddy housing for the poor and deviant.
—Rachel M. Cohen, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See all Example Sentences for deviant 
Adjective
Jähner does not comment on no one seeming to have drawn the lesson that the anti-Semitic stereotype of dishonest and deviant economic behavior that Germans had long identified as a Jewish racial characteristic had turned out to be situationally, not racially, caused.
—Christopher R. Browning, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2022
The Florida bill’s opponents are worried about a world in which teachers have no meaningful way to discuss the real world inhabited by their students, which risks leaving students with the impression that non-straight or non-gender-conforming individuals are somehow deviant.
—Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2022
Noun
Moreover, a climate of distrust can trigger extreme actions by deviant members of the population, such as the 1995 bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City.
—Joseph S. Nye Jr., Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2010
After World War II, as middle-class white families left cities for spacious new suburban homes, SROs were increasingly stigmatized, viewed as shoddy housing for the poor and deviant.
—Rachel M. Cohen, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See all Example Sentences for deviant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deviant
Adjective
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Amyloidosis is a rare disease where bone marrow produces an abnormal protein called amyloid, according to the University of Kansas Cancer Center.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2025
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In darker skin tones, abnormal paleness may be easier to detect in the inner mouth and lining of the eyes.5 4.—
Isabel Vasquez RD LDN,
Health,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Kai Havertz’s finishing, for example, or Kylian Mbappe’s work rate, or the gradual erosion of Jack Grealish’s maverick edge.—
Rory Smith,
The Athletic,
19 Jan. 2025
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Overall, there were palpable achievements, not a few of which involved reminding Americans of the importance of core structural values as the maverick extremes of political discourse exploded in their influence.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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While there are certainly products that can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and needs, hair products are often created with specific consumers in mind.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
16 Feb. 2025
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And yet all of the actors must plow through dialogue that is bracingly unnatural.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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My dedication, to help the waifs and strays and eccentrics of the music world together, continues to this day.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2024
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Robert Redford delivers folksy wisdom as a local eccentric who once had his own dragon encounter, and even Karl Urban’s greedy logger is more of a nuisance than an outright villain.—
Josh Bell,
Vulture,
20 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near deviant
Cite this Entry
“Deviant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deviant. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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