DEVIANT. In LINGUISTICS, a unit of language is deviant if it does not conform to rules formulated in terms of data or native-speaker intuitions. A deviant unit is ill-formed and is generally marked by a preceding asterisk (*Dan does not be happy). A form may be deviant in one variety of a language but well-formed in another: sellt, the past form of sell in SCOTS, as opposed to sold in STANDARD ENGLISH. A form can be acceptable to most users of a language but be deviant in a particular analysis because the rules cannot be formulated to include it. Similarly, an unacceptable form can be well-formed because the rules as formulated cannot exclude it. Some linguists consider the term socially loaded, especially in favour of standard usage, and do not use it. Compare ACCEPTABILITY, FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, GRAMMATICALITY, NON-STANDARD, STYLE.

de·vi·ant / ˈdēvēənt/ • adj. departing from usual or accepted standards, esp. in social or sexual behavior: deviant behavior a deviant ideology. ∎ chiefly offens. homosexual.• n. a deviant person or thing.