noun
deviation
dee-vee-AY-shuhn
noun
1
A departure from an expected, planned, or normal course of action.
"Any deviation from the safety procedure must be reported immediately."
"Her essay showed a clear deviation from the usual exam answer."
2
In statistics, a measure of how far a single value differs from the average.
"The standard deviation tells you how spread out the data is."
How to Use Deviation
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA move or difference away from what is normal, expected, or planned.
Common pairings
standard deviation
deviation from the norm
minor deviation
Word Forms
deviations plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “deviation”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
Any _____ from the safety procedure must be reported immediately.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin dēviātiō, from dēviāre, "to turn off the road" — built from de- ("off") + via ("way").