: departing significantly from the behavioral norms (see normsense 2) of a particular society
deviate behavior
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Deviant & Deviate
Deviant and deviate share a common root (the Latin deviare “to wander off the road, swerve, deviate”) and have some similarities in meaning, but they differ in notable ways. Deviant has functioned in English as an adjective (since the 15th century) and as a noun (since the early 20th century), in each case with a sense that suggests a straying from an accepted norm or from what is considered standard behavior. In contrast to deviant’s socially prescriptive connotations, the verb deviate often implies a less judgmental sense of swerving from the usual way (as in “he never deviated from his routine of drinking coffee with breakfast.”)
deviate implies a turning from a customary or prescribed course.
never deviated from her daily routine
depart suggests a deviation from a traditional or conventional course or type.
occasionally departs from his own guidelines
digress applies to a departing from the subject of one's discourse.
a professor prone to digress
diverge may equal depart but usually suggests a branching of a main path into two or more leading in different directions.
after school their paths diverged
Example Sentences
Verb sailors forced to deviate from their course in order to avoid the storm Noun a sleazy bar that seemed to be an informal clubhouse for deviatesAdjective the mother's deviate response to her child's death aroused suspicions
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
There’s reason to think the Dolphins might deviate from their blitzing strategy of a year ago. Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 15 Sep. 2022 The Distillery Series is a chance for Morris and assistant master distiller Elizabeth McCall to deviate from the core lineup made at Woodford and experiment a bit. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 15 Sep. 2022 These managers were coerced into the league to get to an even number of teams, and their rosters will almost certainly be auto-picked and never deviate from the Week One assemblage. Luther Ray Abel, National Review, 8 Sep. 2022 One of the delights of this collection is how insistently these films deviate from the familiar Hollywood images of women in the early 20th century.New York Times, 19 Aug. 2022 The new Emerson Avenue bridge over I-65 will be realigned with the road's former path before the interstates were put in, meaning the avenue will no longer deviate from a straight line. Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Aug. 2022 In a new paper, Maysen Yen and I studied the direct effects of increases in tipped minimum wages in states that deviate from federal policy. David Neumark, WSJ, 15 Aug. 2022 If a defendant comes before a judge for sentencing and the database shows a similar defendant appearing in that court usually gets sentenced to four years in prison, Donnelly said the judge can still deviate from that sentence. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 19 July 2022 Eastman pushed for Vice President Mike Pence to deviate from his ceremonial role and halt the certification of the electoral votes, a step Pence had no legal power to take and refused to attempt. Eric Tucker, Anchorage Daily News, 28 June 2022
Noun
However, issues with AI implementation complexity deviate one's attention from the actual problem of unfairness in society. Naveen Joshi, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022 The track falls under a new rule that sets a separate coefficient to tracks whose stream counts on a particular platform deviate significantly from the average balance of the overall market due to measures promoted by said streaming service. Billboard Japan, Billboard, 31 May 2022 Will Trump deviate beyond his usual script to discuss the events of January 6? Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 27 May 2022 And so the question is, in the case, did the image and the artwork that Warhol created, did that deviate enough? Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2022 How is voting supposed to be conducted in nursing homes and how did elections in 2020 deviate from that? Molly Beck And Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2022 The marks on the Krapina 3 Neandertal skull deviate from all the other examples of bone modification at the site and are unique in the fossil record. David W. Frayer, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2022 Rather than drastically deviate from your norm, try keeping your caffeine intake consistent. Sarah Garone, Health.com, 13 Sep. 2021 Boards, schools, and even teachers can choose to do the bare minimum or deviate from script, which means what students learn is wildly different from school to school, and even classroom to classroom. Carli Whitwell, refinery29.com, 24 Aug. 2021
Adjective
Aggravating circumstances: Rape/criminal deviate conduct, on probation or parole, mutilation/torture. Tim Evans, Indianapolis Star, 31 Jan. 2014 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb, Noun, and Adjective
Late Latin deviatus, past participle of deviare, from Latin de- + via way — more at way