abnormal

/æbˈnɔrməl/

/æbˈnɔməl/

If you get a snowstorm in the middle of July, you could say that you are experiencing “abnormal weather.” Something that is abnormal is out of the ordinary, or not typical.

Abnormal is a combination of the Latin prefix ab which means “away from,” and the English word normal. It essentially means “not normal,” or "unusual.” Abnormal implies that whatever is “not normal” is also undesirable. However, abnormal is sometimes used in a positive context. The phrase “abnormal intelligence,” for instance, usually refers to someone with especially high intelligence.

Definitions of abnormal

1. adjective

   not normal; not typical or usual or regular or conforming to a norm
   “abnormal powers of concentration”

   “abnormal amounts of rain”

   “abnormal circumstances”

   synonyms: unnatural

   aberrant, deviant, deviate

   markedly different from an accepted norm

   anomalous

   deviating from the general or common order or type

   antidromic

   conducting nerve impulses in a direction opposite to normal

   atypical, irregular

   deviating from normal expectations; somewhat odd, strange, or abnormal

   brachydactylic, brachydactylous

   having abnormally short finger or toes

   defective

   markedly subnormal in structure or function or intelligence or behavior

   freakish

   characteristic of a freak

   kinky, perverted

   (used of sexual behavior) showing or appealing to bizarre or deviant tastes

   subnormal

   below normal or average

   supernormal

   exceeding the normal or average

   vicarious

   occurring in an abnormal part of the body instead of the usual site involved in that function

   insane

   afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement

   antonyms:

   normal

   conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal

   average, mean

   approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value

   average, median

   relating to or constituting the middle value of an ordered set of values (or the average of the middle two in a set with an even number of values)

   average, modal

   relating to or constituting the most frequent value in a distribution

   natural

   functioning or occurring in a normal way; lacking abnormalities or deficiencies

   regular

   not deviating from what is normal

   typical

   conforming to a type

   sane

   mentally healthy; free from mental disorder

   standard

   conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind
2. adjective

   departing from the normal in e.g. intelligence and development
   “an abnormal personality”

   synonyms:

   exceptional

   deviating widely from a norm of physical or mental ability; used especially of children below normal in intelligence

   antonyms:

   normal

   being approximately average or within certain limits in e.g. intelligence and development
3. adjective

   much greater than the normal
   “abnormal profits”

   “abnormal ambition”

   synonyms:

   immoderate

   beyond reasonable limits