Adjacent Words

Deviate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEVIATE, v.i. [L., way.]
1. To turn aside or wander from the common or right way, course or line, either in a literal or figurative sense; as, to deviate from the common track or path, or from a true course.
There nature deviates, and here wanders will.
2. To stray from the path of duty; to wander, in a moral sense; to err; to sin.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: markedly different from an accepted norm; "aberrant behavior"; "deviant ideas" [syn: aberrant, deviant, deviate] n
1: a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior [syn: pervert, deviant, deviate, degenerate] v
1: turn aside; turn away from [syn: deviate, divert]
2: be at variance with; be out of line with [syn: deviate, vary, diverge, depart] [ant: conform]
3: cause to turn away from a previous or expected course; "The river was deviated to prevent flooding"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (-ated; -ating) Etymology: Late Latin deviatus, past participle of deviare, from Latin de- + via way — more at way Date: circa 1633 intransitive verb 1. to stray especially from a standard, principle, or topic 2. to depart from an established course or norm <a flight forced by weather to deviate south> transitive verb to cause to turn out of a previous course Synonyms: see swerve • deviator noun • deviatory adjective II. noun Date: 1912 1. one that deviates from a norm; especially a person who differs markedly from a group norm 2. a statistical variable that gives the deviation of another variable from a fixed value (as the mean) III. adjective Date: 1929 departing significantly from the behavioral norms of a particular society <deviate behavior>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.intr. (often foll. by from) turn aside or diverge (from a course of action, rule, truth, etc.); digress. --n. a deviant, esp. a sexual pervert. Derivatives: deviator n. deviatory adj. Etymology: LL deviare deviat- (as DE-, via way)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Deviate De"vi*ate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Deviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Deviating.] [L. deviare to deviate; de + viare to go, travel, via way. See Viaduct.] To go out of the way; to turn aside from a course or a method; to stray or go astray; to err; to digress; to diverge; to vary. Thus Pegasus, a nearer way to take, May boldly deviate from the common track. --Pope. Syn: To swerve; stray; wander; digress; depart; deflect; err.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Deviate De"vi*ate, v. t. To cause to deviate. [R.] To deviate a needle. --J. D. Forbes.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(deviates, deviating, deviated) To deviate from something means to start doing something different or not planned, especially in a way that causes problems for others. They stopped you as soon as you deviated from the script... = depart VERB: V from n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Digress, diverge, deflect, veer, tack, wheel, turn aside, alter one's course, wheel about. 2. Err, stray, swerve, wander, go astray, go out of one's way, lose one's way. 3. Differ, vary, diverge. II. v. a. Turn aside, cause to deviate.

Moby Thesaurus

alter, ameliorate, angle, angle off, be changed, be converted into, be distinct, be distinguished, be in error, be mistaken, be renewed, be wrong, bear off, bend, bias, bottom out, branch off, break, bypass, change, change the bearing, checker, chop, chop and change, clash with, come about, come around, come round, conflict with, contrast with, crook, curve, deflect, degenerate, depart, depart from, deteriorate, detour, deviant, deviate from, differ, diffract, diffuse, digress, disaccord with, disagree with, disperse, distort, divagate, divaricate, divaricate from, diverge, diverge from, diversify, divert, dogleg, drift, err, excurse, fall into error, flop, get sidetracked, go amiss, go around, go astray, go awry, go round about, go wrong, hairpin, haul around, heel, improve, jar with, jibe, lapse, make a detour, maunder, meliorate, misbelieve, miscalculate, mitigate, modulate, mutate, not accord with, not square with, oblique, pervert, pull, ramble, refract, revive, scatter, serve Mammon, sex criminal, sex fiend, sexual deviant, sexual deviate, sexual pervert, sexual psychopath, sheer, shift, skew, slip, slip up, slue, stand apart, stand over against, stray, stumble, sway, swerve, tack, take a turn, trend, trip, turn, turn aside, turn away, turn into, turn the corner, twist, undergo a change, vary, veer, wander, warp, worsen, zigzag