deviate
Leave the path
Deviate means to depart from an established course, standard, or norm.
A road may deviate from its usual path, or a person may deviate from accepted behavior.
The word often carries a negative connotation, suggesting unwanted departure: The project deviated significantly from the original plan.
As a noun, deviate is a somewhat clinical term for a person whose behavior differs markedly from social norms, especially in sexual matters.
Separate into directions
- strayWander from course
- veerChange course suddenly
- swerveAbrupt directional change
- wanderMove without fixed direction
digress · drift · detour · divert · depart · deflect · turn · shift
Authority defier
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- eccentricUnconventional in character
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
unorthodox · dissent · transgress · heretic · iconoclast · outsider · bohemian · radical
Be unlike another
- varyTo show differences
- divergeSeparate into directions
- contrastNotable difference between things
- discrepancyDifference between expected and actual
disparity · variation · distinction · variance · differentiate · departure · anomaly · inconsistency
Distant data point
- aberrationDeviation from the norm
- abnormalityDeviation from expected state
- exceptionDeviation from standard
- irregularityDeparture from standard
oddity · peculiarity · quirk · freak · unusual · anomalous · atypical · abnormal
diverge
Separate into directions
wander · digress · drift · detour · divert · depart · deflect · turn · shift · branch
rebel
Authority defier
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- eccentricUnconventional in character
unconventional · unorthodox · dissent · transgress · heretic · iconoclast · outsider · bohemian · radical · freethinker
differ
Be unlike another
discrepancy · disparity · variation · distinction · variance · differentiate · departure · anomaly · inconsistency · irregularity
outlier
Distant data point
- aberrationDeviation from the norm
- abnormalityDeviation from expected state
- exceptionDeviation from standard
irregularity · oddity · peculiarity · quirk · freak · unusual · anomalous · atypical · abnormal · singular
mistake
Wrong action or decision
- miscalculateCompute incorrectly
- errMake a mistake
- lapseBrief failure or expiration
slip · blunder · misstep · inaccuracy · fault · flaw · misalign · skew · distort · off-target
- movementwalk, move, go, run, jump
- Off Tracklost, detour, tangent, sidetrack, digression
- digressionsdigression, tangent, aside, sidetrack, detour
- change verbschange, alter, transform, modify, convert
- mishapsmishap, accident, mistake, blunder, error
- comparison verbscompare, contrast, differentiate, distinguish, juxtapose
- sexual devianceAtypical erotic interests
- standard deviationSpread around the mean
- deviated septumMisaligned nasal partition
- deviant behaviorNorm-violating actions
- sexual deviantOne with taboo desires
deviation, deviant, deviance, deviating, deviated, deviates, undeviating, deviations, undeviatingly