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deviation - 7 dictionary results

de⋅vi⋅a⋅tion

  [dee-vee-ey-shuhn]
Use deviation in a Sentence
–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 dēviātiōn- (s. of dēviātiō), equiv. to LL dēviāt(us) (see deviate ) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
de⋅vi⋅a⋅to⋅ry  [dee-vee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , de⋅vi⋅a⋅tive, adjective

angle of deviation

 
–noun Optics.
the angle equal to the difference between the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction of a ray of light passing through the surface between one medium and another of different refractive index.
Also called deviation.

Origin:
1825–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To deviation
de·vi·a·tion   (dē'vē-ā'shən)   
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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Main Entry: de·vi·a·tion
Pronunciation: "dE-vE-'A-sh&n
Function: noun
: an act or instance of diverging from an established way orin a new direction: as a : evolutionary differentiation involving interpolation of new stages in the ancestral pattern of morphogenesis b : noticeable or markeddeparture from accepted norms of behavior
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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.
Cite This Source
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. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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