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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deviant
Evan Romano, Men's Health, 29 May 2023
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
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
In this case, people take active steps to squelch what feels unfair, inappropriate, bad or deviant.
—Jen Cole Wright, The Conversation, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deviant
Adjective
After a season of mystery, wondering, and teasing, the show's sophomore year turned the heat up—and really depicted some of the cannibalism and generally deviant behavior that fans wondered about throughout Season 1.
—Evan Romano, Men's Health, 29 May 2023
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
Noun
Notably, state self-evaluation and negative affect emerged as the most influential mediators for task performance and deviant behavior, respectively.
—Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
In this case, people take active steps to squelch what feels unfair, inappropriate, bad or deviant.
—Jen Cole Wright, The Conversation, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deviant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deviant
Adjective
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Retinopathy of prematurity is an eye disease that impacts premature babies and occurs when there is abnormal growth of the blood vessels in the retina.—
Ramal Nasim
Updated July 14,
Kansas City Star,
14 July 2025
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This mutation produces an abnormal transthyretin (TTR) protein that misfolds and forms amyloid deposits in the heart.—
Patty Weasler,
Verywell Health,
14 July 2025
Noun
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Ballard is a maverick who’s been demoted to assembling a volunteer team, literally in the basement, to review cold case files.—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
6 July 2025
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Car chases were as reliable a trope as the maverick officer with his own moral code mouthing off to superiors, or the battle-scarred veteran who’s seen it all and just wants to eat donuts and make it to retirement.—
Maris Kreizman,
Rolling Stone,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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Even if that means stepping into a version of themselves that feels unnatural.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
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While some can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and concerns, many are created with specific consumers and their needs in mind.—
Angela Trakoshis,
Allure,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Ra’s decades-long adherence to this personal mythology, along with his air of serene bemusement and his extravagant robes and headdresses, led to his popular image as a colorful eccentric.—
Ekow Eshun
July 11,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
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Other characters include outcasts, visionaries and eccentrics — all of whom live on the margins as unseen — a former priest, a girl trapped in working her family’s candy stand, a woman who learned preaching from her brother and is a caretaker for her dying housemate.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deviant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deviant. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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