anomaly

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/əˈnɒməli/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/əˈnɑməli/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(ə nomə lē)

Inflections of 'anomaly' (n): npl: anomalies

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
a•nom•a•ly /əˈnɑməli/USA pronunciation   n., pl. -lies. 
  1. [uncountable] a difference or change from the common type, rule, arrangement, or form;
    irregularity;
    abnormality
  2. someone or something that differs from the expected or usual:[countable]A dog with two tails is an anomaly.
  3. an unexpected, unusual, or strange condition, situation, or quality:[countable]It was an anomaly for the weather to be warm in winter.
See -nom-1.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
a•nom•a•ly  (ə nomə lē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -lies. 
  1. Grammara deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form.
  2. someone or something anomalous:With his quiet nature, he was an anomaly in his exuberant family.
  3. an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.
  4. an incongruity or inconsistency.
  5. Astronomya quantity measured in degrees, defining the position of an orbiting body with respect to the point at which it is nearest to or farthest from its primary.
  6. Meteorologythe amount of deviation of a meteorological quantity from the accepted normal value of that quantity.
  7. Grammarirregularity.
  • Greek anōmalía, equivalent. to anó̄mal(os) anomalous + -ia -ia
  • Latin anōmalia
  • 1565–75
    • 1, 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged abnormality, exception, peculiarity.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
anomaly / əˈnɒməlɪ/ ( -lies)
  1. something anomalous
  2. deviation from the normal or usual order, type, etc; irregularity

  3. Also called: true anomaly the angle between a planet, the sun, and the previous perihelion of the planet
'anomaly' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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