Meaning & use
abnormal
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Different from what is usual or expected, often in a way that worries or puzzles people.
Grammar: Can also follow linking verbs: The result seems abnormal; use unusual to sound gentler.
Patterns
- abnormal behaviour/behavior
- seem abnormal
- abnormal for someone/something
The cat's abnormal hiding continued for several days.
It is abnormal for the office to be this quiet on a Monday.
She noticed an abnormal smell near the heater.
adjectivebefore a nounmedicalbiologytechnical
Departing from normal structure, function, or range in medicine, biology, or testing.
Grammar: Clinical use is neutral: abnormal cells reports variation, not a moral judgment.
Patterns
- abnormal cells
- abnormal result
- abnormal heart rhythm
The scan showed abnormal cells in a small area.
His abnormal heart rhythm was monitored overnight.
An abnormal result may simply mean the test should be repeated.
Common combinations
- abnormal behavior
- Teachers recorded the child's abnormal behavior without guessing causes.
- abnormal result
- One abnormal result led the doctor to order a second test.
- abnormal cells
- The biopsy found abnormal cells, so treatment began early.
- nothing abnormal
- The inspection found nothing abnormal in the water tank.
- abnormal psychology
- She studies abnormal psychology to understand patterns of distress.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unusual
- Gentler and safer in everyday speech when no problem is certain.
- atypical
- Neutral for not typical, common in medicine and descriptions of patterns.
- irregular
- Emphasizes not following a regular rule, pattern, or rhythm.
- anomalous
- Formal and technical; best for data or cases that break an expected pattern.
Opposites
Word family
- abnormality noun
- A particular feature, condition, or state of being abnormal.
- abnormally adverb
- In an abnormal way or to an abnormal degree.
Commonly confused: abnormal or subnormal? abnormal or paranormal?
abnormal vs subnormal
Subnormal means below a normal level, especially in older or offensive IQ labels; abnormal simply means different from normal.
abnormal vs paranormal
Paranormal concerns events beyond normal scientific explanation, like ghosts, not ordinary deviation.
Practice
Which sentence best uses abnormal in a neutral medical context?
Choose one answer.
Abnormal is an adjective placed before the noun cells: abnormal cells. Options 2 and 4 are ungrammatical, and option 3 wrongly uses abnormal as a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abnormal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.