deviant

American  

[dee-vee-uhnt] / ˈdi vi ənt /

adjective

1. deviating or departing from the norm; characterized by deviation.

   deviant social behavior.

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noun

1. a person or thing that deviates or departs markedly from the accepted norm.

deviant British  

/ ˈdiːvɪənt /

adjective

1. deviating, as from what is considered acceptable behaviour

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noun

1. a person whose behaviour, esp sexual behaviour, deviates from what is considered to be acceptable

Other Word Forms

• nondeviant
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of deviant

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin dēviant-, stem of dēviāns “straying,” present participle of dēviāre “to stray, turn from the road”; see deviate

Explanation

A deviant is someone whose behavior falls far outside of society's norms; as an adjective, deviant can describe the behavior itself. For example, a fifty-year-old punk rocker has a deviant appearance, compared to his peers. That aging punk deviates, or departs from the norm, of people his age. Both deviant and deviate come from the Latin word deviare, meaning "to turn out of the way." Deviants experience this turning away from society, either by choice, or in the case of someone who has harmed another, perhaps by sexual abuse, by being cast out by people who want nothing to do with them.

Example Sentences

Thompson was part of the wave of artists in the 1950s who explored the darker, deviant impulses of American life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

The cases of what the GSK report from 2003 described as "deviant behaviour" involved two men who were prescribed Ropinirole for Parkinson's disease.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2025

That gave people an excuse to start pulling the masks down and indulging in the deviant behaviors often celebrated by drill rappers.

From Washington Times • Oct. 10, 2023

We could call it a moral panic, a widespread and often unfounded fear about some deviant or alien entity in society.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2023

But the child who, during its early years, lives in an environment where it feels secure, loved, and accepted is not likely to become a deviant.

From Report of the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents by Mazengarb, O. C. (Oswald Chettle)