Both aberrant and abhorrent are negatives, although abhorrent is much, much worse, inspiring disgusting thoughts.
Aberrant is not normal, deviating from the usual or ordinary.
Abhorrent is loathsome and absolutely hideous.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Aberrant | Abhorrent |
|---|---|
 — |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Noun
Plural for the noun: aberrant |
Adjective |
| Adjective: Departing from an accepted standard Departing from the right, normal, or usual course [Biology] Deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type
Noun: A person whose behavior departs substantially from the standard |
Inspiring disgust, repugnance, detestation, and loathing
[Usually followed by to, when postpositive] ] Utterly opposed, or contrary, or in conflict [Usually followed by of, when postpositive] Feeling extreme repugnance or aversion [Usually followed by from] Remote in character |
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: This somewhat aberrant behavior requires an explanation. The cause of his illness is aberrant chromosomes. He is exhibiting aberrant behavior. We have noticed that multiple clones carried an aberrant chromosome III that was indistinguishable by size. Yet these men had invisible and aberrant thoughts and fantasies, and were constantly processing their weird symbols and hatred in ways normal people will never fully comprehend. “Multiple members of the Trump circle have been forced to decide between appeasing and abetting their boss’ aberrant behavior and constitutional vandalism and their own reputations” (Collinson). Noun: Since many of these women migrated outside the family context, they were construed as aberrant. |
Racial discrimination should be abhorrent to us all.
It has a powerful way of making acceptable what was once abhorrent or repulsive. She is abhorrent of candles and smoking. Abusive child labor is abhorrent and should be banned and eradicated. It’s as abhorrent and repellent and disgusting to me as it ever was. The combination of horrific makeup, abhorrent timing, and trite jokes has literally become painful. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adverb: aberrantly Noun: aberrance, aberrancy |
Adverb: abhorrently, unabhorrently Verb: abhor |
| History of the Word: | |
| Mid-16th century, from the Latin aberrant- meaning wandering away, from the verb aberrare, from ab- (away, from) + errare (to stray). | Late 16th century, from the Latin abhorrent- meaning shuddering away from in horror, from the verb abhorrere, from ab- (away from) + horrere (to shudder). |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Aberrant versus Abhorrent
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Apple Dictionary.com
Cambridge Dictionary: aberrant
Collinson, Stephen. “Meadows Contempt Vote Shows Growing Power of January 6 Committee.” CNN. 15 Dec 2021. Web. 27 Jan 2022. <https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_a5094f201cccc90330f5445412ce2f7c>.
Dictionary.com: abhorrent, aberrant
Lexico.com: abhorrent, aberrant
Merriam-Webster: aberrant
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Marjorie Taylor Greene by Gage Skidmore is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
