deviant
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing deviant
Latin Love, Vol I: via
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The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
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Little Brother
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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 only way I could describe it is it was just deviant," she tells us - using that word without any knowledge of the GSK research which had established a link with such behaviour.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2025
Dio, meanwhile, balked at the participation of both noble and enslaved gladiatrices in Emperor Nero’s deviant games.
From Salon • Nov. 26, 2024
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
A rebel has certain basic deviant characteristics and we can't overcome them sufficiently to make happy, well-adjusted workers out of you.
From The Victor by Walton, Bryce
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
