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Something aberrant has wandered away from the usual path or form. The word is generally used in a negative way; aberrant behavior, for example, may be a symptom of other problems. But the discovery of an aberrant variety of a species can be exciting news to a biologist, and identifying an aberrant gene has led the way to new treatments for diseases.
Synonyms
Examples of aberrant in a Sentence
P. D. James, The Private Patient, 2008
… as if he had happily spied an aberrant crocus amid the wintry gray scene of Presidential impeachment.
—Francis X. Clines, New York Times, 8 Jan. 1999
… at the brief and aberrant moment in time when it was possible to believe that America owed its great place in the world to its military and moral virtue rather than to the weight of its currency.
—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, March 1992
a year of aberrant weather—record rainfall in the summer, record heat in the autumn
aberrant behavior can be a sign of rabies in a wild animal
IEEE Spectrum, 15 May 2024
The issue of an artificial character seeming sinister or aberrant is familiar to designers of toys and games.
—Patrick House, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for aberrant 
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“Aberrant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aberrant. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
aberrant
adjective
ə-; ˈab-ə-rənt
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