aberration

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The act of wandering; deviation from truth, moral rectitude; abnormal; divergence from the straight, correct, proper, normal, or from the natural state.

   “the aberration of youth”

   “aberrations from theory”

   “aberration of character”

   “A derailment which occurred on April 18 last between Laindon and Pitsea on the London Tilbury & Southend Line was caused by a lengthman who in a moment of aberration clipped a set of spring catch points in the derailing position, concludes Col. J. R. H. Robertson in his report […].”

   “Our ancien regime, like the aristocracy of pre-revolutionary France, thought the party would never end. 2016 shook their historicist faith in the arc of the moral universe but by 2020 they hoped to write Trump off as an aberration. In retrospect, 2020 was the aberration, the rearguard action of a struggling regime and its struldbrugg ruler.”

2. (countable, uncountable)The convergence to different foci, by a lens or mirror, of rays of light emanating from one and the same point, or the deviation of such rays from a single focus; a defect in a focusing mechanism that prevents the intended focal point.
3. (countable, uncountable)A small periodical change of the apparent positions of the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer.
4. (broadly, countable, uncountable)A small periodical change of the apparent positions of the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer.
5. (countable, uncountable)A partial alienation of reason.

   “Occasional aberrations of intellect”

   “We see indeed the aberrations of unruly appetite”

6. (countable, uncountable)Any creature with supernatural powers not found in the organized classes of beings in a given setting.

   “Only by submitting to the aberration could the human traders travel safely through the territory of Zularn.”

7. (countable, uncountable)A mental disorder, especially one of a minor or temporary character.
8. (countable, uncountable)Atypical development or structure; deviation from the normal type; an aberrant organ.
9. (countable, uncountable)A deviation of a tissue, organ or mental functions from what is considered to be within the normal range.
10. (countable, uncountable)A defect in an image produced by an optical or electrostatic lens system.