normality

American  

[nawr-mal-i-tee] / nɔrˈmæl ɪ ti /

noun

normalities plural

1. conformity to the standard, typical, or average level, rate, condition or set of conditions, characteristics, behavior, etc..

   Any assumption of a quick return to normality and business as usual is premature.

   Surprising as it may sound, simple changes to your bed and lifestyle could prove to be the difference between severe pain and normality.

2. Chemistry. the concentration of a solution relative to that of a normal solution, one that contains one equivalent weight of the solute per liter.

   Since gram equivalent weight is the measure of the reactive capacity of a molecule, the solute's role in the reaction determines the solution's normality.

3. Statistics. the fact or property of showing a frequency distribution representable by a normal curve, a symmetrical bell-shaped curve.

   To confirm the statistical validity of the model I ran a number of diagnostics, checking for observations of influences and for normality of the distribution.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• normalities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of normality

First recorded in 1830–40; normal ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Compare meaning

How does normality compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• normalcy vs. normality

Explanation

When something happens that shakes up your life, you probably look forward to a return to normality, meaning the usual happenings of everyday life. To correctly pronounce normality, accent the second syllable and rhyme it with gal: "nor-MAL-ity." When you look at normality, you notice the word normal, which describes something that meets common standards. The suffix -ity means "the state of being," so normality refers to a state that is normal, something that is just as expected. Normality and normalcy are synonyms, the later associated with President Warren G. Harding, who during a speech used normalcy instead of the more common normality.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

normality normalities

The bizarre imagery of war feeds back into civilian normality in a British pen stand and inkwell fashioned from the nose fuse of a German shell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

He was a former prosecutor who entered Parliament late in life, the unspoken pitch being that he would bring some dull normality back to British politics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

"The day I got to see him again was emotional, it felt like another step closer to normality," he added.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

In Dubai, unusually light traffic and deserted tourist areas tell the tale of a city still waiting for a return to normality.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

During those ten days, the school went back to relative normality.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

It must be emphasized that malignant normalities are not limited to politics.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2021

He finds it interesting to tinker with the normalities of a given game, but that he would never purposefully harm characters like the titular creatures in Pikmin.

From The Verge ● Dec. 7, 2017

It is not journalism's ordinary business to deal with the unstartling normalities of life.

From Time Magazine Archive

They attest to the normalities of our lives, and suggest that in the long run there is a gentleness and decency that pre vails over the berserk flashes and the threats of sudden death.

From Time Magazine Archive

But after that moment's pause Tommy returned to normalities.

From The Furnace by Macaulay, Rose, Dame

Related Words

• ordinariness
• uniformity