- The act of deviating or turning aside.
- An abnormality; a departure: “Vice was a deviation from our nature” (Henry Fielding).
- Deviant behavior or attitudes.
- Divergence from an accepted political policy or party line.
- Deflection of a compass needle caused by local magnetic influence, especially on a ship.
- Statistics. The difference, especially the absolute difference, between one number in a set and the mean of the set.
deviationist de'vi·a'tion·ist adj. & n.
SYNONYMS deviation, aberration, divergence. These nouns mean a departure from what is prescribed or expected: tolerates no deviation from the rules; regretted the aberrations of my adolescence; the divergence of two cultures.




