abnormal

[ab-nawr-muhl]

adjective

1. not normal, average, typical, or usual; deviating from a standard.

   abnormal powers of concentration; an abnormal amount of snow; abnormal behavior.

   Synonyms: odd, unnatural, deviant, irregular, aberrant, anomalous

2. extremely or excessively large.

   abnormal profit.

abnormal

/ æbˈnɔːməl /

adjective

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

2. informal,  odd in behaviour or appearance; strange

Other Word Forms

• abnormally adverb
• abnormalness noun
• superabnormal adjective
• superabnormally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of abnormal¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of abnormal¹

C19: _ab- ¹ + _normal , replacing earlier anormal from Medieval Latin anormalus, a blend of Late Latin anōmalus _anomalous + Latin abnormis departing from a rule

Synonym Study

See irregular.

Example Sentences

This effect only appeared in regions experiencing abnormal activation, such as after a nerve injury.

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Tau protein fibrils are abnormal bundles of tau proteins that assemble inside neurons when tau loses its normal shape and function.

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The term microclots, recently adopted in the scientific literature, refers to abnormal clumps of blood clotting proteins circulating in a patient's blood stream.

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This irregular breathing pattern may be linked to dysautonomia, a disorder involving abnormal nerve control of blood vessels and muscles.

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Still, at some point households might decide they have built large enough buffers for even the most abnormal scenarios and start spending with more abandon.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• aberrant 
• anomalous 
• atypical 
• bizarre 
• exceptional 
• extraordinary 
• irregular 
• odd 
• peculiar 
• strange 
• uncommon 
• unexpected 
• unnatural 
• unusual 
• weird