A person who studies, believes in, or advocates for the existence and importance of abnormalities or deviations from the norm.
From abnormal (from Latin ab- 'away from' + norma 'rule') + -ist (suffix denoting a person who practices or believes in something). The term emerged in 19th-century academic discourse to describe those who focused on abnormal phenomena.
This word reflects how science evolves—what was once dismissed as mere 'deviations' became an entire field of study; abnormalists helped establish psychology and medicine by taking the unusual seriously rather than ignoring it.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.