deviance
/ˈdiːvɪəns/noun
deviance is spelled D-E-V-I-A-N-C-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, deviance means “Actions or behaviors that violate formal and informal cultural norms such as laws and customs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of deviance is deviances.
How many letters and syllables are in deviance?
| Letters | 8: D-E-V-I-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,108th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is deviance?
Deviance appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce deviance?
- /ˈdiːvɪəns/
Deviance has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-deviance.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of deviance
- deviances plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deviance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Actions or behaviors that violate formal and informal cultural norms such as laws and customs.
Socrates was sentenced to death for his deviance.
- 2
A person or thing that differs from the expected.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deviance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense variation from expected behavior or form:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | déviance |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does deviance come from?
Borrowed from French déviance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).