anomaly
noun
anom·a·ly
| \ ə-ˈnä-mə-lē
\
\
plural anomalies
Definition of anomaly
1
: something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified : something anomalous
They regarded the test results as an anomaly.
2
: deviation from the common rule : irregularity
3
: the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sun
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Synonyms for anomaly
Synonyms
aberration, abnormality, exception, oddity, oddment, rarity
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Examples of anomaly in a Sentence
In approximately 10% of patients, autism can be explained by genetic syndromes and known chromosomal anomalies (most of which have recognizable features in addition to autism) …
— Lauren A. Weiss et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 14 Feb. 2008
Eleven minutes may not sound like much when you're waiting for a table at your favorite restaurant, but in the course of centuries, eleven minutes and change become a formidable chunk of time. By the 1300s, those superfluous minutes had added up to hours, then days, then more than a week. The calendar was losing time, irrevocably, to the "real" year, slipping further and further behind in its measurement of the earth's orbit. Anomalies began to creep into what had been the certainties of life. The spring equinox—one of two moments in the year when day and night are of equal length all over the earth, and which occurs on or about March 21—began to fall on March 16, then 15, then 14.
— Michelle Stacey, Harper's, December 2006
Californians aren't the only ones vexed by rolling brownouts and other power-supply anomalies. Everyday power spikes, surges, sags, and line noise cause computers, stereo equipment, televisions, telephones, and other delicate electronic equipment to go psychotic or have complete nervous breakdowns.
— Fortune, 25 June 2001
This policy may well have made sense back when steroid use was an anomaly. Now that bulking up with chemical help seems to be more popular than ever, it's incumbent on baseball to take action.
— Steve Kettman, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2000
We couldn't explain the anomalies in the test results.
her C grade is an anomaly, as she's never made anything except A's and B's before
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Recent Examples on the Web
The home exuded wealth with oak hardwoods and expensive wool area rugs surrounding luxury furnishings, an anomaly for the location and era. — Mary Wakeford, azcentral, "Sahuaro Ranch boasts one of Glendale's earliest cool homes. Take a look," 18 July 2019 For Sven Groeneveld, a veteran coach now working with Sloane Stephens, the WTA’s situation is also an anomaly. — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, "While the Women’s Game Is in Upheaval, the Big 3 Men Still Dominate," 10 June 2019 The launch of the campaign was accompanied by a television ad featuring former President Barack Obama, an anomaly for the network, which almost universally backs conservative candidates and policies. — Alana Abramson, Time, "Koch-Backed Group Immigration Group Wants Voters to Press Congress to Act on Immigration Reform," 24 May 2018 The push for bipartisan legislation is somewhat of an anomaly for the network that plans to spend up to $400 million on politics and policy that help elect Republicans to Congress in November. — Leigh Ann Caldwell, NBC News, "Koch groups urge Congress to pass DACA relief for Dreamers," 17 Apr. 2018 The first priority for Kimmerle, who led the original 2012 excavation at Dozier, is determining whether or not the anomalies are human burials. — Susan Scutti, CNN, "Following a catastrophic storm, a new investigation begins at Florida's Dozier School for Boys," 17 July 2019 The anomaly occurred during the Vega rocket’s second stage ignition, at which point mission control lost its telemetry link from the launcher. — Jon Porter, The Verge, "Arianespace launch failure destroys military satellite," 11 July 2019 There is an obvious anomaly in its depiction of the ethnic makeup of the islands of Britain and Ireland during and after the fall of the western Roman Empire. — Fintan O’toole, The New York Review of Books, "Celtic Myths," 7 Mar. 2019 This anomaly needs to be addressed in the forthcoming budget by incentivising bank deposits. — Vk Vijayakumar, Quartz India, "A fragile economy leaves Nirmala Sitharaman with little room to dole out goodies," 1 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anomaly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for anomaly
anomaly
noun
English Language Learners Definition of anomaly
somewhat formal
: something that is unusual or unexpected : something anomalous
See the full definition for anomaly in the English Language Learners Dictionary
anomaly
noun
anom·a·ly
| \ ə-ˈnä-mə-lē
\
\
plural anomalies
Kids Definition of anomaly
: something different, abnormal, strange, or not easily described
anomaly
noun
anom·a·ly
| \ ə-ˈnäm-ə-lē
\
\
plural anomalies
Medical Definition of anomaly
: a deviation from normal especially of a bodily part
the infants demonstrated congenital anomalies personality anomalies
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