abnormal

[ ab-nawr-muhl ]
See synonyms for: abnormalabnormally on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. not normal, average, typical, or usual; deviating from a standard: abnormal powers of concentration; an abnormal amount of snow; abnormal behavior.

  2. extremely or excessively large: abnormal profit.

Origin of abnormal

1
First recorded in 1850–55; ab- + normal; replacing anormal, from Medieval Latin anōrmālus, variant of anōmālus anomalous, influenced by Latin norma norm

synonym study For abnormal

1. See irregular.

Other words for abnormal

Other words from abnormal

  • ab·nor·mal·ly, adverb
  • ab·nor·mal·ness, noun
  • su·per·ab·nor·mal, adjective
  • su·per·ab·nor·mal·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with abnormal

Words Nearby abnormal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use abnormal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for abnormal

abnormal

/ (æbˈnɔːməl) /


adjective
  1. not normal; deviating from the usual or typical; extraordinary

  2. informal odd in behaviour or appearance; strange

Origin of abnormal

1
C19: ab- 1 + normal, replacing earlier anormal from Medieval Latin anormalus, a blend of Late Latin anōmalus anomalous + Latin abnormis departing from a rule

Derived forms of abnormal

  • abnormally, adverb

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