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definitions

anomalous

[uh-nom-uh-luh s]
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adjective

deviating from or inconsistent with the common order, form, or rule; irregular; abnormal: Advanced forms of life may be anomalous in the universe.
not fitting into a common or familiar type, classification, or pattern; unusual: He held an anomalous position in the art world.
incongruous or inconsistent.
Grammar. irregular.

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RELATED WORDS

atypical, unnatural, incongruous, abnormal, peculiar, divergent, aberrant, bizarre, eccentric, exceptional, foreign, inconsistent, irregular, odd, preternatural, prodigious, rare, strange, unorthodox, untypical

Origin of anomalous

1640–50; (< Medieval Latin, Late Latin anōmalus) < Greek anṓmalos irregular, equivalent to an- an-1 + homalós even, with ō by analogy with other Gk privatives (cf. anopheles); see homo-, -ous
Related formsa·nom·a·lous·ly, adverba·nom·a·lous·ness, noun
Can be confusedanomalous anonymous euonymus unanimous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for anomalous

Contemporary Examples of anomalous

Historical Examples of anomalous

  • It is not anomalous, but more like and not less like other men.

    Essays, First Series

    Ralph Waldo Emerson

  • But how comes it, Phil, that they have never discovered their anomalous position?'

    Jack Hinton

    Charles James Lever

  • What was anomalous in my position had passed away with the next outward mail.

    Romance

    Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer

  • The appearance of these two girls in this earthy family was anomalous.

    The Man Who Wins

    Robert Herrick

  • Difformis: irregular in form or outline: not comparable; anomalous.

British Dictionary definitions for anomalous

anomalous

adjective

deviating from the normal or usual order, type, etc; irregular, abnormal, or incongruous
Derived Formsanomalously, adverbanomalousness, noun

Word Origin for anomalous

C17: from Late Latin anōmalus, from Greek anōmalos uneven, inconsistent, from an- + homalos even, from homos one and the same
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for anomalous
adj.

1640s, from Late Latin anomalus, from Greek anomalos "uneven, irregular" (see anomaly). Related: Anomalously; anomalousness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper