Abnormal | IELTS vocabulary

Abnormal (adjective)

Abnormal can mean unnatural, unusual, atypical, irregular, uncommon, exceptional, strange, peculiar, odd, freakish or eccentric

• Jane has an abnormal fear of strangers.
• An abnormal amount of rain fell in May.
• Indians spend an abnormal amount of money on marriages.

Note that abnormal can mean either below or above normal.

• Einstein had an abnormal IQ. (His IQ was above normal.)
• A stupid also has an abnormal IQ. (His IQ is below normal.)

Abnormal antonyms

Normal, natural, usual, typical, conventional, ordinary, regular, familiar, unexceptional, common etc.

Subnormal always means below or worse than normal.

• The artist delivered a subnormal performance. (= The artist’s performance was below normal.)
• She is a subnormal singer.

Abnormality (noun)

An abnormality is a deformity, an aberration, a malformation, an irregularity or an oddity.

• A clubfoot is an abnormality.