deviancy
Straying from norms
Deviancy is behavior that departs from accepted norms or standards.
The word carries judgment—what counts as deviant depends on who sets the norms.
In sociology, deviancy describes any violation of social rules, from minor infractions to serious crimes.
In older usage, it often implied sexual abnormality: The film portrayed homosexuality as deviancy.
The term has fallen from favor as attitudes shift.
Mark of dishonor
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- disgraceLoss of honor
- scandalDisgraceful public affair
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
perversion · ostracism · transgression · impropriety · indecency · depravity · obscenity · lewdness
Unconventional behavior or nature
- quirkinessUnusual or unexpected trait
- idiosyncrasyDistinctive personal peculiarity
- peculiarityUnusual distinguishing characteristic
- odditySomething unusual or unexpected
unconventionality · bohemianism · counterculture · iconoclasm · maverick · originality · outsider · freethinker
Serious criminal offense
- theftUnlawful taking of property
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- arsonCriminal deliberate burning
- burglaryIllegal entry to commit crime
assault · vandalism · robbery · embezzlement · shoplifting · smuggling · forgery · kidnapping
stigma
Mark of dishonor
prohibition · perversion · ostracism · transgression · impropriety · indecency · depravity · obscenity · lewdness · immorality
eccentricity
Unconventional behavior or nature
- quirkinessUnusual or unexpected trait
- idiosyncrasyDistinctive personal peculiarity
- peculiarityUnusual distinguishing characteristic
oddity · unconventionality · bohemianism · counterculture · iconoclasm · maverick · originality · outsider · freethinker · individualism
felony
Serious criminal offense
burglary · assault · vandalism · robbery · embezzlement · shoplifting · smuggling · forgery · kidnapping · extortion
deviancyconformity
Adherence to norms
compliance · conventionality · conformism · orthodoxy · obedience
deviancynormality
State of being typical
normalcy · typicality · averageness · ordinariness · regularity
deviancyrighteousness
Moral correctness or virtue
virtue · rectitude · propriety · uprightness · morality
- sexual devianceAtypical erotic interests
- deviant behaviorNorm-violating actions
- sexual deviantOne with taboo desires