abnormal
American
adjective
-
not normal; deviating from the usual or typical; extraordinary
-
informal odd in behaviour or appearance; strange
Synonym Usage
See irregular.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of abnormal
First recorded in 1850–55; ab- + normal; replacing anormal, from Medieval Latin anōrmālus, variant of anōmālus anomalous, influenced by Latin norma norm
Explanation
If you get a snowstorm in the middle of July, you could say that you are experiencing “abnormal weather.” Something that is abnormal is out of the ordinary, or not typical. Abnormal is a combination of the Latin prefix ab which means “away from,” and the English word normal. It essentially means “not normal,” or "unusual.” Abnormal implies that whatever is “not normal” is also undesirable. However, abnormal is sometimes used in a positive context. The phrase “abnormal intelligence,” for instance, usually refers to someone with especially high intelligence.
Vocabulary lists containing abnormal
Lesson 1
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 6
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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.
Tau, meanwhile, accumulates inside neurons and forms abnormal tangles.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
For the past five years, Sweet and fellow graduate student Mat Bloomfield have worked with cell biologist Daniela Cimini to investigate cells carrying abnormal numbers of chromosomes, a common characteristic of cancer.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
The approach, known as genicular artery embolization, aims to interrupt the inflammation and abnormal blood vessel growth that contribute to chronic knee pain.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
GAE is designed to interrupt this process by reducing blood flow through the abnormal vessels while preserving the knee's normal circulation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
I had bought a few paperbacks on abnormal psychology at the drugstore and compared my symptoms with the symptoms in the books, and sure enough, my symptoms tallied with the most hopeless cases.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
