Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

deviation

de.vi.a.tion \.de--ve--'a--sh*n\ \-sh*-.niz-*m\ \-sh(*-)n*st\ n : an act or 
   instance of deviating : as  : deflection of the needle of a compass caused 
   by local magnetic influenc es (as in a ship) : the difference between a 
   value in frequency distribution and a fixed nu mber : evolutionary 
   differentiation involving interpolation of new stages in t he ancestral 
   pattern of morphogenesis : departure from an established ideology or party 
   line  : noticeable or marked departure from accepted norms of behavior  - 
   de.vi.a.tion.ism n