anomaly
/əˈnɑ.mə.li/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.47 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any event or measurement that is out of the ordinary regardless of whether it is exceptional or not.
noun
noun
A defect or malformation.
Example Sentences
- "This ardent exploration, absorbing all his energy and interest, made him forget for the moment the mystery of his heritage and the anomaly that cut him off from all his fellows."
- "He is an anomaly among his friends in that he's the only one who's unmarried."
- "She disregarded some of the anomalies in the experiment, putting them down to miscalculation."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ᾰ̓- (ă-) Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sem-h₂-lo-sder. Ancient Greek ὁμᾰλός (homălós) Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek ἀνωμαλία (anōmalía)bor. Latin anōmalialbor. English anomaly From Latin anomalia, from Ancient Greek ἀνωμαλία (anōmalía, “irregularity, anomaly”), from ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos, “irregular, uneven”), negating the meaning of ὁμαλός (homalós, “even”), from ὁμός (homós, “same”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈnɑ.mə.li/
- British English: /əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/