View synonyms for aberration

aberration

[ ab-uh-rey-shuhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course:
Leaving that spelling error in her final report was an aberration from her usual meticulous work, and it surprised her colleagues.
Synonyms: divergence, deviation, wandering
an instance of deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type:
Certain disorders may be caused by a chromosomal aberration, such as the absence or duplication of a particular chromosome.
Last season was an aberration in the league, with a sharp increase in the number of injuries to players.
deviation from truth or from good ethics:
Disgust may begin as physical revulsion that is eventually triggered by anything a person sees as moral aberration.
a departure from sound thinking; lapse in judgment:
Through some strange aberration or oversight, the author rejected my own much more subtle and effective amendments.
Synonyms: hallucination, delusion, illusion, eccentricity, abnormality
Astronomy. apparent displacement of a heavenly body, owing to the motion of the earth in its orbit.
Optics. any disturbance of the rays of a pencil of light such that they can no longer be brought to a sharp focus or form a clear image.
Photography. a defect in a camera lens or lens system, due to flaws in design, material, or construction, that can distort the image.

aberration

/ ˌæbəˈreɪʃən /

noun

deviation from what is normal, expected, or usual
departure from truth, morality, etc
a lapse in control of one's mental faculties
optics a defect in a lens or mirror that causes the formation of either a distorted image or one with coloured fringes See also spherical aberration chromatic aberration
astronomy the apparent displacement of a celestial body due to the finite speed of light and the motion of the observer with the earth

aberration

/ ăb′ə-rā′shən /

A deviation in the normal structure or number of chromosomes in an organism.
A defect in a lens or mirror that prevents light rays from being focused at a single point and results in a distorted or blurred image.
◆ Aberration that results in distortion of color is called chromatic aberration.
◆ Aberration that is caused by imperfections in the surface or shape of a spherical mirror or lens is called spherical aberration.
See also astigmatism

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Other Words From

ab·er·ra·tion·al adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of aberration¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin aberrātiōn-, stem of aberrātiō “distraction, diversion, relief (from pain or sorrow),” from aberrāt(us) “diverted, deviated” (past participle of aberrāre “to divert, forget for a time,” also “to wander, deviate”; aberrant ) + -iō -ion

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Example Sentences

But after his 2020 defeat and President Biden’s repair of America’s global ties, especially in support of Ukraine, allies could — and did — hope that Trump had been an aberration.

From Los Angeles Times

Is this sudden wave of success for Indian films an aberration or a long-awaited shift in global consciousness?

From BBC

With every passing season, the more the Pete Carroll era looks like an aberration instead of a realistic standard to which the program should be held.

From Los Angeles Times

But Professor Yun Jeong-in, a research professor at Korea University's Legal Research Institute, insisted the country was dealing with "an aberration, not a systemic failure of democracy", pointing to the mass protests every night.

From BBC

The genome was in some cases extremely remodeled, with up to 64 structural genomic aberrations in a single cancer cell.

From Science Daily

Related Words

aberrant Aberystwyth

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