adjective / noun

deviant

DEE-vee-unt/ˈdiːviənt/

Departing from accepted standards or behavior, or a person who does so.

The sideways red block occupies a deviant position outside the expected row.

A row of identical blue toy blocks neatly aligned while one red block is conspicuously sideways outside the expected row; departure from pattern clear.

Etymology

deLatinoff, away

+viLatinway, road

+antLatinpresent participle ending

The pieces give the image of turning off a road or straying from a path. Applied to behavior, that path becomes an accepted standard, so someone deviant departs from the expected course.

In context

Weird History9:06

Showing ankles was too provocative, it was thought, and occasionally led to the more deviant behavior of exposing a woman's legs.

What Was Up With Those Giant Victorian Skirts?

More examples

They label him a deviant for rejecting their traditions.
The novel portrays outsiders as heroes rather than deviants.
What one culture considers deviant may be ordinary in another.

Forms

deviant · deviants

deviance noun — Departure from accepted standards or behavior.

deviate verb — To depart from an established course or standard.

Similar words

aberrant: Often suggests an exceptional departure from normal behavior or patterns.
nonconformist: Emphasizes independence from convention, often without implying wrongdoing.