Aberrant
Lab results with one wild outlier, a test score that breaks the curve, and weather in the wrong month all get flagged with this adjective.
Learn This WordMeaning
Departing from the normal or expected course; deviating from what is typical.
Memory trick
AB-ERRANT is "away wandering": aberrant = strayed off the path.
Examples
One aberrant result made the researchers rerun the whole experiment.
His aberrant spending that month showed up clearly on the card statement.
A warm week in January felt aberrant, and the whole office talked about it.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin aberrare "to wander away," from ab- "away" + errare "to wander, stray."
Usage Notes
Common in science, medicine, and data work for outliers; in daily use it flags anything off pattern.
Real-life contexts
Discuss data: "Ignore the aberrant point and the trend is clean."
Discuss behavior: "That outburst was aberrant for her."
Discuss weather: "This heat is aberrant for March."
Common Mistakes
Aberrant means off course, not immoral. A strange result is aberrant; a cruel act is something else.
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Part of Speech
adjective
Difficulty
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