aberration Hear it!

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aberration definition

ab·er·ra·tion (ab′ər ā′s̸hən)

noun

  1. a departure from what is right, true, correct, etc.
  2. a deviation from the normal or the typical
  3. mental derangement or lapse
  4. Astron. a small, periodic apparent change in the observed position of a celestial object, caused by the constantly changing position of the earth and the finite speed of the object's light
  5. Optics
    1. the failure of light rays from one point to converge at a single focus
    2. a fault in a lens or mirror causing such failure

Etymology: L abberatio < aberrare: see aberrant

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

medical aberration definition - medical

aberration Synonyms

aberration

n.

  1. Deviation

    irregularity, lapse, wandering; see difference 2.

  2. Abnormality

    strangeness, peculiarity, derangement; see characteristic, irregularity 2, quirk.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

aberration Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • lens: The measured aberrations of the spherical lenses were much reduced relative to the original design ( figure 5 ).

Converse of object

  • minimize: Two ED glass elements minimize chromatic aberration in the entire zoom range while ensuring high resolution and contrast.

Adjective modifier

  • chromatic: I also looked into the immense size of chromatic aberration in the human eye.

Modifies a noun

  • assay: Overall, the COM concluded that the results from the in vitro chromosomal aberration assays were likely to represent a cytotoxic response.

Noun used with modifier

  • chromosome: A typical breast cancer, for example, will have 10 to 20 chromosome aberrations.
aberration usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

aberration quotes

Body-line was not an incident, it was not an accident, it was not a temporary aberration. It was the violence and ferocity of our age expressing itself in cricket.

-James, C(yril) L(ionel) R(obert)

aberration quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"aberration." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/aberration>

APA Style

aberration. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/aberration

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