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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 And that those who carry both principles in a single body, who have always carried both, are not aberrations of this cosmology. — Vogue, 1 June 2026 The result was a rare aberration in the South American team’s otherwise excellent tournament run. — Tushaar Kuthiala, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 June 2026 Even at its peak, #MeToo felt seismic precisely because the movement was an aberration from the historical norm; nearly a decade later, that norm has reasserted itself with inertia on its side. — Alison Herman, Variety, 30 June 2026 Paul, who averaged 21 goals and 40 points — and 79 games — in his first three full seasons with the Lightning, is determined to show that this past season’s seven-goal, 15-point, 51-game showing was an aberration. — Eduardo A. Encina, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 June 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
  • The lifetime cost of dementia care alone now exceeds $400,000 per person.
    — John Samuels, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • However, the study was observational and does not prove that caffeine directly prevents dementia.
    — Lauren Pastrana, CBS News, 29 June 2026
Definition of dementia
Noun
  • The film stars Gosling as Ryland Grace, an amnesiac teacher on a solo mission to save Earth from a sun-draining anomaly.
    — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Bobrovsky should still have tread on the tires, and maybe last season was an anomaly.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of anomaly
Noun
  • Iraq, Canada, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Qatar, Saudi Arabia After accidentally cursing President Saddam Hussein on stage, theater actor Salem convinces a military court of his insanity to escape a death sentence.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 6 July 2026
  • San Francisco trailed 6-1 at the time of Webb’s departure, and given Coors Field’s penchant for insanity, a comeback wasn’t out of the question.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 4 July 2026
Definition of insanity
Noun
  • The statute would ban covered officers from wearing masks or shielding their identities while on duty and interacting with the public, with exceptions including medical masks, religious coverings, certain tactical equipment and hazardous conditions.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
  • While the majority of states have lieutenant governors, there are exceptions.
    — Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 2 July 2026
Definition of exception
Noun
  • And the hysteria over the centers seemed to be not as much about freedom, or competing educational philosophies, or politics at all, as about an ever-shrinking pot of money.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
  • From causing supernatural events to creating hysteria, our orbiting nightlight has always had legends and folktales written about it.
    — Taylor Grothe, Parents, 28 June 2026
Definition of hysteria
Noun
  • Interestingly, the development could lead to precision for delicate industrial manufacturing, gives advanced prosthetics a richer sense of touch, and allow surgical systems to instantly detect fine tissue abnormalities through visual color cues.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 July 2026
  • Kesseli and the team investigated three possible reasons for this abnormality.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of abnormality
Noun
  • But their loving, attentive mother soon began displaying signs of schizophrenia.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 3 July 2026
  • After Nijinsky began to show signs of schizophrenia, this mask, or persona, grew disturbed.
    — Cal Revely-Calder, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Definition of schizophrenia
Noun
  • Alex Bell, chairman emeritus of Sotheby’s UK and Old Masters worldwide, said the work succeeded because it combined scale, rarity, impeccable provenance, and immediate visual impact.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 1 July 2026
  • Amsterdam was largely laid out in the 17th century, making new land available for gardens a rarity.
    — Zoë Dare Hall, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of rarity

Browse Nearby Words

aberrated
aberration
aberrational
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Aberration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aberration. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on aberration

Nglish: Translation of aberration for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about aberration

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All