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anomalous

[ uh-nom-uh-luh s ]
/ əˈnɒm ə ləs /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR anomalous ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

anomalism, anomalistic, anomalistic month, anomalistic year, anomalo-, anomalous, anomalous complex, anomalous correspondence, anomalous dispersion, anomalous monism, anomalous zeeman effect

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

British Dictionary definitions for anomalous

anomalous

/ (əˈnɒmələs) /

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

anomalous

adj.

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper