deviation
Americannoun
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deviations
plural
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the act of deviating.
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departure from a standard or norm.
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Statistics. the difference between one of a set of values and some fixed value, usually the mean of the set.
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Navigation. the error of a magnetic compass, as that of a ship, on a given heading as a result of local magnetism.
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Optics.
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Also called deflection. the bending of rays of light away from a straight line.
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departure or divergence from an established dogma or ideology, especially a Communist one.
noun
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an act or result of deviating
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statistics the difference between an observed value in a series of such values and their arithmetic mean
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the error of a compass due to local magnetic disturbances
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of deviation
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin dēviātiōn-, stem of dēviātiō; equivalent to deviate + -ion
Explanation
Anything that varies from the accepted norm or standard is called a deviation. It is common in math and science, but it can refer to anything that differs from the expected. Deviation in nature is an important part of evolution. When something causes a creature’s DNA to change, it creates a deviation, or a changed characteristic. If the deviation makes the organism better able to survive, it passes the change on to its descendants. People are naturally given to change, so there are deviations in critical thought as well as in math and science. Those deviations often account for the creativity that gives rise to new ideas, or theories, or even musical styles.
Vocabulary lists containing deviation
30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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"Tinker v. Des Moines": Excerpts from Justice Fortas's Opinion
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This Week In Words: August 31–September 6, 2019
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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.
See Examples For:
Modelling for Operation Blue Skies suggests a full deviation through Shanwick would mean around 100kg of additional fuel per affected aircraft.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
They showed significant deterioration in several measures, including elevator and aileron control, landing accuracy and vertical and lateral deviation on approach.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
For purposes of calculating this strategy’s track record, a dip was defined as a drop of at least one standard deviation below the stock market’s trailing 12-month mean.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
Consider analyst estimates for Meta and their standard deviation, which measures how widely dispersed they are from the average.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
And it really has been a nice deviation from the norm.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
Ode engineers are now helping Chamberlain test software that can learn a family’s routines, like when they arrive home every day, and flag deviations to the homeowner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence had pushed growth stocks to more than two standard deviations above value stocks in late May.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
The scientists suggested several theories for why these two humpbacks embarked on such "exceptional" deviations from the normal routes.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Macroscopicity allows scientists to evaluate experiments involving systems such as nano-oscillators, atomic interferometers, and nanoacoustic resonators by measuring how effectively they rule out even tiny deviations from standard quantum theory.
From Science Daily ● May 11, 2026
In recent years the even smaller deviations of the orbits of the other planets from the Newtonian predictions have been measured by radar and found to agree with the predictions of general relativity.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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.
