deviant
/ˈdiː.vi.ənt/adjective, noun
deviant is spelled D-E-V-I-A-N-T: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, deviant means “Characterized by deviation from an expectation or a social standard” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in deviant?
| Letters | 7: D-E-V-I-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,820th 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 deviant?
Deviant appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th 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 deviant?
- UK /ˈdiː.vi.ənt/
Deviant 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)-I_learned_some_phrases-deviant.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of deviant
- more deviant comparative
- most deviant superlative
- deviants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deviant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterized by deviation from an expectation or a social standard.
At the trial, the extent of his deviant behaviour became clear.
noun
- 1
A person who deviates, especially from norms of social behavior.
He was branded as a deviant and ostracized.
- 2
A thing, phenomenon, or trend that deviates from an expectation or pattern.
As the graph shows, the March sales trend is the deviant.
- 3
A member of the online art community DeviantArt.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of deviant (“a member of the online art community DeviantArt”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deviant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | déviant |
| German | abweichend, abnormal, pervers, anders , Abweichler, Abnormaler |
| Spanish | anormal, disconforme, desconforme, aberrante, desviado, desviante |
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 deviant come from?
From Middle English devyaunt (“deviating, different”), from Late Latin dēviāns, present participle of dēviō (“to stray, deviate or detour”). The noun is from the adjective, possibly attested in Middle English with the meaning “one who goes astray”.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).