Definition of "deviant" []

• Differing from a norm or from the accepted standards of a society. (adjective)
• One that differs from a norm, especially a person whose behavior and attitudes differ from accepted social standards. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Late Friday, the military rulers issued a stern warning that they will crack down on what they called "deviant groups," which they blamed for a spike in crime and violence."
• "Last night the military rulers issued a stern warning that they would crack down on what they called "deviant groups", which they blamed for an increase in crime and violence."
• "Thus you have a feedback loop in which prejudice against those identifiable as deviant is validated by the very disgust that motivates it, and propagating that prejudice is validated by the pride that results."