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deviation
6 dictionary results for: Deviation
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
de·vi·a·tion       [dee-vee-ey-shuhn] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.the act of deviating.
2.departure from a standard or norm.
3.Statistics. the difference between one of a set of values and some fixed value, usually the mean of the set.
4.Navigation. the error of a magnetic compass, as that of a ship, on a given heading as a result of local magnetism. Compare variation (def. 8).
5.Optics.
a.Also called deflection. the bending of rays of light away from a straight line.
b.angle of deviation.
6.departure or divergence from an established dogma or ideology, esp. a Communist one.
[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME (< MF) < ML déviātiōn- (s. of déviātiō), equiv. to LL déviāt(us) (see deviate) + -iōn- -ion]

—Related forms
de·vi·a·to·ry       [dee-vee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] Pronunciation Key, de·vi·a·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
de·vi·a·tion       (dē'vē-ā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. The act of deviating or turning aside.
  2. An abnormality; a departure: "Vice was a deviation from our nature" (Henry Fielding).
  3. Deviant behavior or attitudes.
  4. Divergence from an accepted political policy or party line.
  5. Deflection of a compass needle caused by local magnetic influence, especially on a ship.
  6. Statistics The difference, especially the absolute difference, between one number in a set and the mean of the set.

de'vi·a'tion·ism n., de'vi·a'tion·ist adj. & n.
Synonyms: These nouns mean a departure from what is prescribed or expected: tolerates no deviation from the rules; regretted the aberrations of my adolescence; the divergence of two cultures.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
deviation

noun
1. a variation that deviates from the standard or norm; "the deviation from the mean" 
2. the difference between an observed value and the expected value of a variable or function 
3. the error of a compass due to local magnetic disturbances 
4. deviate behavior 
5. a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern); "a diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into irrelevant details"; "a deflection from his goal" [syn: diversion] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
deviation       (dē'vē-ā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
The difference between one number in a set and the mean of the set.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

deviation de·vi·a·tion (dē'vē-ā'shən)
n.

  1. A turning away or aside from a normal course.
  2. An abnormality.
  3. Deviant behavior or attitudes.
  4. The difference, especially the absolute difference, between one number in a set and the mean of the set.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Deviation

De`vi*a"tion\, n. [LL. deviatio: cf. F. d['e]viation.]

1. The act of deviating; a wandering from the way; variation from the common way, from an established rule, etc.; departure, as from the right course or the path of duty.

2. The state or result of having deviated; a transgression; an act of sin; an error; an offense.

2. (Com.) The voluntary and unnecessary departure of a ship from, or delay in, the regular and usual course of the specific voyage insured, thus releasing the underwriters from their responsibility.

Deviation of a falling body (Physics), that deviation from a strictly vertical line of descent which occurs in a body falling freely, in consequence of the rotation of the earth.

Deviation of the compass, the angle which the needle of a ship's compass makes with the magnetic meridian by reason of the magnetism of the iron parts of the ship.

Deviation of the line of the vertical, the difference between the actual direction of a plumb line and the direction it would have if the earth were a perfect ellipsoid and homogeneous, -- caused by the attraction of a mountain, or irregularities in the earth's density.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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