Abnormal
//ˌæbˈnɔː.məl// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person or object that is not normal.
Adjective
- 1 Not conforming to rule or system; deviating from the usual or normal type.
"And then after an abnormal meal, which was either a very late breakfast or a very early lunch, they drove on to Victoria Station."
- 2 Of or pertaining to that which is irregular, in particular, behaviour that deviates from norms of social propriety or accepted standards of mental health.
"Furuseth was right; I was abnormal, an "emotionless monster," a strange bookish creature, capable of pleasuring in sensations only of the mind."
Adjective
- 1 much greater than the normal wordnet
- 2 not normal; not typical or usual or regular or conforming to a norm wordnet
- 3 departing from the normal in e.g. intelligence and development wordnet
Example
More examples"Environmental pollution is causing abnormal weather conditions."
Etymology
From ab- + normal. First attested in 1835, replacing the earlier anormal and even earlier abnormous, from Latin abnormis (“departing from normal”), from either (ab- (“away from”) + norma (“rule, norm”)), or Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos).
Related phrases
More for "abnormal"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.