deviant

American  

[dee-vee-uhnt] / ˈdi vi ənt /

adjective

1. deviating or departing from the norm; characterized by deviation.

   deviant social behavior.

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noun

1. a person or thing that deviates or departs markedly from the accepted norm.

deviant British  

/ ˈdiːvɪənt /

adjective

1. deviating, as from what is considered acceptable behaviour

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noun

1. a person whose behaviour, esp sexual behaviour, deviates from what is considered to be acceptable

Other Word Forms

• nondeviant adjective

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”; deviate

Example Sentences

Once a slur that implied homosexuality was shamefully deviant, “queer” was “reclaimed” in the 1980s by gay activists as a synonym for “gay.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

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

We could call it a moral panic, a widespread and often unfounded fear about some deviant or alien entity in society.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2023

The agency's enforcement division is not only responsible for upholding environmental laws and ticketing deviant poachers and recreational vehicle drivers, but it also has full police powers on state lands.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2023

It became known as Danger V. Nobody ever bothered to explain why I never encountered the phenomenon of Danger V. It became official record, and my experience was the deviant.

From What Need of Man? by Calin, Harold