| English Dictionary |
NORMAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does normal mean?
• NORMAL (noun)
The noun NORMAL has 1 sense:
1. something regarded as a normative example
Familiarity information: NORMAL used as a noun is very rare.
• NORMAL (adjective)
The adjective NORMAL has 4 senses:
1. conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal
2. in accordance with scientific laws
3. being approximately average or within certain limits in e.g. intelligence and development
4. forming a right angle
Familiarity information: NORMAL used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Something regarded as a normative example
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
convention; formula; normal; pattern; rule
Context example:
his formula for impressing visitors
Hypernyms ("normal" is a kind of...):
practice (knowledge of how something is usually done)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "normal"):
mores ((sociology) the conventions that embody the fundamental values of a group)
code of behavior; code of conduct (a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group)
universal (a behavioral convention or pattern characteristic of all members of a particular culture or of all human beings)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal
Context example:
the normal course of events
Similar:
average; mean (approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value)
average; median (relating to or constituting the middle value of an ordered set of values (or the average of the middle two in a set with an even number of values))
average; modal (relating to or constituting the most frequent value in a distribution)
natural (functioning or occurring in a normal way; lacking abnormalities or deficiencies)
regular (not deviating from what is normal)
typical (conforming to a type)
Also:
sane (mentally healthy; free from mental disorder)
standard (conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind)
Attribute:
normalcy; normality (being within certain limits that define the range of normal functioning)
Antonym:
abnormal (not normal; not typical or usual or regular or conforming to a norm)
Derivation:
normality (conformity with the norm)
Sense 2
Meaning:
In accordance with scientific laws
Antonym:
paranormal (not in accordance with scientific laws)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Being approximately average or within certain limits in e.g. intelligence and development
Context example:
the most normal person I've ever met
Domain category:
psychological science; psychology (the science of mental life)
Antonym:
abnormal (departing from the normal in e.g. intelligence and development)
Derivation:
normality (being within certain limits that define the range of normal functioning)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Forming a right angle
Similar:
perpendicular (intersecting at or forming right angles)
Domain category:
geometry (the pure mathematics of points and lines and curves and surfaces)
Context examples
According to France’s Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, the forecast peak for the Seine is about four to five meters above its normal height.
(France's Flooding Rains Examined by NASA’s IMERG, NASA)
It's normal to forget things once in awhile.
(Memory, NIH: National Institute on Aging)
This type of tachycardia occurs in patients with apparently normal hearts.
(Adenosine-Sensitive Ventricular Tachycardia by ECG Finding, NCI Thesaurus)
A protein found on the surface of certain types of normal cells and cancer cells.
(Mesothelin, NCI Dictionary)
All solar eclipses have the strength of three normal new moons packed into one, but this one is like Santa’s sack—filled with gifts for you (and some are financial).
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Adenocarcinoma in situ, which occurs most often in the cervix, may become cancer and spread to nearby normal tissue.
(Adenocarcinoma in situ, NCI Dictionary)
Targeted therapy uses substances that attack cancer cells without harming normal cells.
(Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
"By contrast, the anti-tumor property of βGBP is selective and not harmful to normal cells," lead author Professor Livio Mallucci said.
(Molecule in Immune System Able to Trigger 'Suicide' of Cancerous Tumors, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The normal range for ANC is 1.5 to 8.0 (1,500 to 8,000/mm3).
(Absolute neutrophil count, NCI Thesaurus)
It tarried, however: days and weeks passed: I had regained my normal state of health, but no new allusion was made to the subject over which I brooded.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"Those who have one foot in the canoe, and one foot in the boat, are going to fall into the river." (Native American proverb, Tuscarora)
"If you hear a person talking good about things that aren't in you, don't be sure that he wouldn't also say bad things about things that aren't in you." (Arabic proverb)
"The most beautiful laughter comes from the mouth of a mourner." (Corsican proverb)