Anomaly


a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form.
Synonyms: abnormality, exception, peculiarity.
an person or thing; one that is abnormal or does not fit in:
With his quiet nature, he was an anomaly in his exuberant family.
Synonyms: abnormality, exception, peculiarity.
an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.
an incongruity or inconsistency.
Astronomy. a quantity measured in degrees, defining the position of an orbiting body with respect to the point at which it is nearest to or farthest from its primary.
Meteorology. the amount of deviation of a meteorological quantity from the accepted normal value of that quantity.
Grammar, .
Contemporary Examples

I am tall and broad, and yet, within the fashion world, I am an anomaly.
Ralph Lauren Plus-Size Model Robyn Lawley: I’m Proud of My Body Robyn Lawley September 25, 2012

Thankfully, academic medicine is obsessed with recording every anomaly out there.
Man on Reddit Shows Off His Three Testicles. Have We Seen It All? Kent Sepkowitz March 24, 2014

The Hirst affair muddies the efforts to dismiss the Choe murals as an anomaly.
David Choe, Facebook’s Millionaire Graffiti Artist Jimmy So February 2, 2012

The artwork itself is gorgeous, but the fact that the exhibit exists in the first place is a bit of an anomaly––at least on paper.
The Genesis of Noah’s Art Show Alex Suskind March 6, 2014

“I’ve always been an anomaly in this business, for a lot of reasons,” he says.
Why Republicans Don’t Get the Internet Meghan McCain February 18, 2009

Historical Examples

It was in great part the existence of this anomaly which led to the re-establishment of the sample post in 1887.
The Development of Rates of Postage A. D. Smith

What an anomaly in political architecture, to build an inverted pyramid!
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete Edward Bulwer-Lytton

I have already shown that a frictionless medium is opposed to all philosophy and experience, and is an anomaly in the universe.
Aether and Gravitation William George Hooper

To test this anomaly, use should be made of Landolt’s apparatus (Fig. 36).
Criminal Man Gina Lombroso-Ferrero

A woman to be masculine, in the true sense of the word, is an anomaly, to be witnessed with pain.
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers Charles Bradlaugh, A. Collins, and J. Watts

noun (pl) -lies
something anomalous
deviation from the normal or usual order, type, etc; irregularity
(astronomy)

Also called true anomaly. the angle between a planet, the sun, and the previous perihelion of the planet
Also called eccentric anomaly. the angle between the periapsis of a particular point on a circle round the orbit as seen from the centre of the orbit. This point is obtained by producing a perpendicular to the major axis of the ellipse through the orbiting body until it reaches the circumference of the circle
Also called mean anomaly. the angle between the periapsis of an orbit and the position of an imaginary body orbiting at a constant angular speed and in the same period as the real orbiting body

(geology)

Also called gravity anomaly. a deviation from the normal value of gravity at the earth’s surface, caused by density differences at depth, for example those caused by a buried mineral body
Also called magnetic anomaly. a magnetic field, for example one produced by a buried mineral body, that deviates from an expected or standard value, usually that of the earth’s magnetic field

n.

1570s, from Latin anomalia, from Greek anomalia “inequality,” noun of quality from anomalos “uneven, irregular,” from an-, privative prefix, “not” (see an- (1)) + homalos “even,” from homos “same” (see same).

anomaly a·nom·a·ly (ə-nŏm’ə-lē)
n.
A deviation from the average or norm.

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    the state or quality of being anomalous. an anomaly.

  • Anomalistic

    of or relating to an . Historical Examples But a curious and anomalistic alignment of interests and parties now arose. The Columbia River William Denison Lyman An anomalistic month is the time in which the moon passes from perigee to perigee, &c. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 Various But 2,300 solar years […]

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    See under (def 5). Also called calendar month. any of the twelve parts, as January or February, into which the calendar year is divided. the time from any day of one to the corresponding day of the next. a period of four weeks or 30 days. Also called solar month. one-twelfth of a solar or […]

  • Anomalistic year

    the average interval between consecutive passages of the earth through the perihelion, equivalent to 365.26 days. noun the interval between two successive passages of the earth through perihelion; 365.25964 mean solar days

  • Anomalous

    deviating from or inconsistent with the common order, form, or rule; ; abnormal: Advanced forms of life may be anomalous in the universe. not fitting into a common or familiar type, classification, or pattern; unusual: He held an anomalous position in the art world. incongruous or inconsistent. Grammar, . Contemporary Examples The recent auction records […]


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