Definitions of aberration [ˌæb əˈreɪ ʃən]

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Definition of 'aberration'

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

1. (n.) aberration
deviation from the usual or normal course.

2.  aberration
deviation from the usual or normal type.

3.  aberration
deviation from truth or moral rectitude.

4.  aberration
mental unsoundness, esp. of a minor or temporary nature; mental lapse.

5.  aberration
apparent displacement of a heavenly body, owing to the motion of the earth in its orbit.

6.  aberration
any disturbance of the rays of a pencil of light such that they can no longer be brought to a sharp focus or form a clear image.

Etymology: (1585–95; < L aberrātiō <aberrā(re) (see aberrant ))

Definition of 'aberration'

Princeton's WordNet

1. (noun) aberrance, aberrancy, aberration, deviance
a state or condition markedly different from the norm

2. (noun) aberration
a disorder in one's mental state

3. (noun) aberration, distortion, optical aberration
an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image

Definition of 'aberration'

Webster Dictionary

1. (noun) aberration
the act of wandering; deviation, especially from truth or moral rectitude, from the natural state, or from a type

2. (noun) aberration
a partial alienation of reason

3. (noun) aberration
a small periodical change of position in the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer; called annual aberration, when the observer's motion is that of the earth in its orbit, and daily or diurnal aberration, when of the earth on its axis; amounting when greatest, in the former case, to 20.4'', and in the latter, to 0.3''. Planetary aberration is that due to the motion of light and the motion of the planet relative to the earth

4. (noun) aberration
the convergence to different foci, by a lens or mirror, of rays of light emanating from one and the same point, or the deviation of such rays from a single focus; called spherical aberration, when due to the spherical form of the lens or mirror, such form giving different foci for central and marginal rays; and chromatic aberration, when due to different refrangibilities of the colored rays of the spectrum, those of each color having a distinct focus

5. (noun) aberration
the passage of blood or other fluid into parts not appropriate for it

6. (noun) aberration
the producing of an unintended effect by the glancing of an instrument, as when a shot intended for A glances and strikes B

'aberration' - Nearby Entries
aberrancy aberrant aberrate aberration abet abetalipoproteinemia abetment

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