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deviant

 [dee-vee-uhnt]   Example Sentences Origin

de·vi·ant

   [dee-vee-uhnt]
adjective
1.
deviating or departing from the norm; characterized by deviation: deviant social behavior.
noun
2.
a person or thing that deviates or departs markedly from the accepted norm.

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Deviant is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
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Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin dēviant- (stem of dēviāns, present participle of dēviāre to deviate), equivalent to Latin dē- de- + vi(a) road, way + -ant- -ant

Related forms
non·de·vi·ant, adjective, noun

Can be confused: deviant, deviate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To deviant
Example Sentences
  • If some deviant wished to produce a real ray gun, this might be an opportunity.
  • In essence, such a social deviant cannot be reasoned with nor understood.
  • These deviant methods for seeking integration and meaning for life meet with the highest social disapproval.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
deviant (ˈdiːvɪənt)
 
—adj
1.  deviating, as from what is considered acceptable behaviour
 
—n
2.  a person whose behaviour, esp sexual behaviour, deviates from what is considered to be acceptable

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

deviant
c.1400 (adj.), from L.L. deviantem, prp. of deviare "turn aside," from L. phrase de via, from de "off" + via "way." The noun, in the sexual sense, is attested from 1952; also deviate (n.), recorded since 1912.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

deviant de·vi·ant (dē'vē-ənt)
adj.
Differing from a norm or from the accepted standards of a society. n.
One that differs from a norm, especially a person whose behavior and attitudes differ from accepted social standards.

de'vi·ance or de'vi·an·cy n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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