deviance

D2E1V4I1A1N1C3E1
/ˈdiːvɪəns/

noun

Actions or behaviors that violate formal and informal cultural norms such as laws and customs.

“Socrates was sentenced to death for his deviance.”

Similar
aberranceaberrancyaberrationdeviation
OriginFrench déviance ← Latin dēviāre →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

noundeviance (countable and uncountable, plural deviances)

plural deviances

  1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesActions or behaviors that violate formal and informal cultural norms such as laws and customs.

    Socrates was sentenced to death for his deviance.

  2. countableuncountableA person or thing that differs from the expected.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna state or condition markedly different from the norm

Similar
aberranceaberrancyaberration
Broader
abnormalityabnormalcy

noundeviate behavior

Similar
deviation
Broader
abnormalityirregularity
Also see
aberranceaberrancyaberrationanomalydeviationfreakoddityqueernessunusualityunusualness

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latindē viā
  2. Latindēviāre
  3. Frenchdévier
  4. Frenchdéviance
  5. Englishdeviance

Borrowed from French déviance.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech deviace
  • deviacevariation from expected behavior or form
Dutch afwijking, buitenbeentje
  • afwijkingvariation from expected behavior or form
  • buitenbeentjeperson or thing that differs from the expected
Finnish poikkeavuus
  • poikkeavuusvariation from expected behavior or form
French déviance
  • déviancevariation from expected behavior or form
Hungarian deviancia
  • devianciavariation from expected behavior or form
Indonesian penyimpangan, deviasi
  • penyimpanganvariation from expected behavior or form
  • deviasivariation from expected behavior or form
Malay devians
  • deviansvariation from expected behavior or form
Polish dewiacja, oryginał
  • dewiacjavariation from expected behavior or form
  • oryginałperson or thing that differs from the expected
Swedish avvikelse
  • avvikelsevariation from expected behavior or form

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

cevadine
Cite this entry
APA

deviance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deviance

MLA

“deviance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deviance. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deviance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deviance.

Source: deviance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.