aberration

noun

ˌa-bə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce aberration (audio)
Definition of aberrationnext
1
as in dementia
a serious mental disorder that prevents one from living a safe and normal life Joan of Arc was certain the voices she had been hearing were not a manifestation of some sort of aberration

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2
as in anomaly
something that is different from what is ordinary or expected there are some slight aberrations in the type due to the nature of old printing presses

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of aberration Nearly half a century onward, Jonestown strikes many people as a bizarre aberration. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 There’s not enough space in one letter to describe the aberrations of this president. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2026 SteamDB’s data since BeamNG’s release doesn’t indicate that this is attention is an aberration, either. — Adam Ismail, The Drive, 6 Aug. 2026 This lens is made up of 20 elements and two mirrors plus a large-diameter aspherical lens that nips distortion and aberration in the bud. — New Atlas, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for aberration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aberration
  1. dementia
  2. anomaly
  3. insanity
  4. exception
  5. hysteria
  6. abnormality
  7. schizophrenia
  8. rarity
Noun
  • Sleep, for instance, isn’t downtime but active maintenance, when the brain flushes out cellular waste in ways that may help stave off dementia.
    — Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Developed by researchers in the US, the remarkable new treatment could one day be used to treat patients in advanced stages of dementia by restoring the brain’s ability to recover from ongoing neurodegeneration.
    — Mike McRae August 30, New Atlas, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of dementia
Noun
  • If a camera spots an anomaly — the wrong gasket installed on an oven, for example — the system will shut that part of the line down and start playing loud music.
    — Andrea Hsu, NPR, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Those data will either reveal this one event to be an anomaly or uncover more like it.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of anomaly
Noun
  • Massachusetts law states that a person committed after a successful insanity defense can be recommitted over and over again, each time for a one-year period.
    — Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result is what some people call insanity.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of insanity
Noun
  • The law includes several exceptions, including certain vehicles, medical devices and other equipment.
    — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The developers have sought an exception to rules around how much parking can front a nearby boulevard, and will be expected to provide extra landscaping and screening to buffer the parking from nearby properties.
    — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of exception
Noun
  • The roughly 25-acre farm is also home to a reproduction of the Salem Village Meeting House, the site of many early hearings about the Salem witchcraft hysteria.
    — Nicholas DeRenzo, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Russia has rejected all accusations of espionage, portraying them as part of anti-Russian hysteria.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of hysteria
Noun
  • Medical experts at the time suspected her death was caused by a brain abnormality that ruptured because of the intensity of the ride.
    — Blake Ellis, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Physicians needed to decide what to do if a pregnant woman came to the ER suffering from organ failure, or carrying a fetus with a fatal abnormality.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of abnormality
Noun
  • AntiMood stabilizers support people who have mood swings because of conditions such as bipolar disorder, personality disorder and schizophrenia.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
  • He’d been diagnosed with schizophrenia, his autopsy report said.
    — Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of schizophrenia
Noun
  • The rarity of the condition means diagnosis can be delayed, increasing the chances of severe symptoms.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Its native structure, the twenty-two-episode season, has become a rarity in the industry, as has its default lightness.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of rarity

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Cite this Entry

“Aberration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aberration. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on aberration

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about aberration

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