deviation
noun
de·vi·a·tion
ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən 
: an act or instance of deviating: such as
a
navigation
: deflection of the needle of a compass caused by local magnetic influences (as in a ship)
b
mathematics
: the difference between a value in a frequency distribution and a fixed number (such as the mean)
c
: departure from an established ideology or party line
deviation from Communist orthodoxy
d
: noticeable or marked departure from accepted norms (see norm sense 2) of behavior
Examples of deviation in a Sentence
There have been slight deviations in the satellite's orbit.
Having juice instead of coffee was a deviation from his usual routine.
The pattern's deviation from the norm is significant.
Recent Examples on the Web
But for the most part, the pattern established by Reagan has persisted ever since, and deviations — like Bush’s tax hike, which contributed to his loss in 1992 — are remembered more as cautionary tales than examples to emulate.
—
Dylan Matthews, Vox, 22 May 2025
Both the North Carolina appeals court and the North Carolina Supreme Court allowed some of the votes in question to be tossed out—a stark deviation from other courts who considered and dismissed such claims in the last few years.
—Sean Morales-Doyle, Time, 21 May 2025
By creating pretext tasks, SSL models can learn the underlying structure of financial time series and identify deviations indicative of anomalous activities.
—Yidi Xu, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
The series mostly follows the story of the games upon which it's based, though there have been a few changes and deviations, most of which have been received well by fans of the games.
—Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for deviation
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Dylan Matthews, Vox, 22 May 2025
Both the North Carolina appeals court and the North Carolina Supreme Court allowed some of the votes in question to be tossed out—a stark deviation from other courts who considered and dismissed such claims in the last few years.
—Sean Morales-Doyle, Time, 21 May 2025
By creating pretext tasks, SSL models can learn the underlying structure of financial time series and identify deviations indicative of anomalous activities.
—Yidi Xu, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
The series mostly follows the story of the games upon which it's based, though there have been a few changes and deviations, most of which have been received well by fans of the games.
—Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for deviation
Cite this Entry
“Deviation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deviation. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
deviation
noun
de·vi·a·tion
ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən
: an act or instance of deviating: as
a
: the difference found by subtracting some fixed number (as the arithmetic mean of a series of statistical data) from any item of the series
b
: noticeable difference from accepted standards (as of behavior or morals)
Medical Definition
deviation
noun
de·vi·a·tion
ˌdē-vē-ˈā-shən
: an act or instance of diverging from an established way or in a new direction: as
a
: evolutionary differentiation involving interpolation of new stages in the ancestral pattern of morphogenesis
b
: noticeable or marked departure from accepted norms of behavior
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