anomaly

IPA/əˈnɒməli/
KK[ənˈɑməli]IPA/əˈnɑːməli/

anomaly — noun

  • anomalysingular
  • anomaliesplural

1. someone or something that seems strange because it does not fit the pattern peop

1.nounC1
Definition

someone or something that seems strange because it does not fit the pattern people usually expect

Example

The extra ten orders on Linh's report turned out to be a billing anomaly.

collocation: billing anomaly

After weeks of cool weather, Sunday's heat felt like an anomaly.

pattern: feel like an anomaly

Common collocations
  • a billing anomaly
  • a weather anomaly
  • an anomaly in the data
  • detect an anomaly
  • treat it as an anomaly
Synonyms
  • irregularity

    often used when something does not follow the normal rule or pattern

  • oddity

    more informal and often suggests something curious or slightly strange

  • outlier

    mainly used for a value or case that sits far from the rest in a set

Antonyms
  • norm

    the usual pattern or standard case

  • regularity

    a state of happening in the expected way

Grammar Patterns

an anomaly in + data/system/pattern

see/treat something as an anomaly

Usage Note

Often used for data, results, weather, or one person or thing that does not match the rest of a group. It commonly appears in patterns like an anomaly in the data or treat something as an anomaly.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Anomaly' is a broad formal word for something that does not match the usual pattern or what people expected. 'Irregularity' often stresses a break from a rule, process, or smooth pattern, so it fits reports, records, and official systems well. 'Oddity' is more casual and highlights how strange or curious something seems. 'Outlier' is narrower and is especially common for statistics, data, or one case sitting far from the rest. 'Exception' often means a case left outside a general rule, but it does not always sound strange. If a weather result, survey answer, or person in a group feels unusually out of place, 'anomaly' is often the best fit.

irregularity ↗oddity ↗outlier ↗exception ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • billing anomaly
  • data anomaly
  • weather anomaly
  • statistical anomaly

Phrases

  • detect an anomaly
  • treat something as an anomaly

Prepositions

  • an anomaly in

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Anomaly comes from Greek 'anomalia', meaning unevenness or something that does not follow the rule. It passed through Latin and French into English, keeping the idea of a case that stands outside the usual pattern.