normal

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normal

/ˈnɔː.məl/ UK
[ˈnɔː.mɫ̩] UK
/ˈnoɹ.məl/ Canada, US
[ˈnoɹ.mɫ̩] Canada, US
/ˈnɔ.məl/ dialectal
[ˈnɔ.mɫ̩] dialectal
/ˈnoː.məl/ Australia, New Zealand
[ˈnoː.mɫ̩] Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)məl

Where it comes from

From Latin normālis (“made according to a carpenter's square; later: according to a rule”), from nōrma (“carpenter's square”), of uncertain origin; equivalent to norm + -al, doublet of normale. The earliest meaning of the word in English was "perpendicular; forming a right angle" like something normālis (“made according to a carpenter's square”), but by Late Latin normālis had also come to mean "according to a rule", from which modern English senses of the word derive: in the 1800s, as people began to quantitatively study things like height, weight and blood pressure, the usual or most common values came to be called "normal", and by extension values regarded as healthy or desirable came to be called "normal" regardless of their usuality.

adjective more normal · normaler · normaller · most normal · normalest · normallest

According to norms or rules or to a regular pattern. Organize the data into third normal form.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a real number In whose representation in a given base b ≥ 2, for every positive integer n, the bⁿ possible strings of n digits follow a uniform distribution. A number whose individual digits in a given base representation follow a uniform distribution is said to be simply normal.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a subgroup With cosets which form a group.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a field extension of a field K Which is the splitting field of a family of polynomials in K.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
usually, of a distribution Which has a very specific bell curve shape; that is or has the qualities of a normal distribution.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual, Gaussian, standard normal · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a family of continuous functions Which is pre-compact.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a function from the ordinals to the ordinals Which is strictly monotonically increasing and continuous with respect to the order topology.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a matrix Which commutes with its conjugate transpose.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a Hilbert space operator Which commutes with its adjoint.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a morphism Which is the kernel or cokernel of some morphism, respectively.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a category Which contains only normal morphisms.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a topology or topological space In which disjoint closed sets can be separated by disjoint neighborhoods.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a domain Integrally closed: equal its own integral closure in its field of fractions.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a ring Such that all of its localizations at prime ideals are integrally closed domains.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
of a variety or scheme Such that the local ring at every point is an integrally closed domain.
Similar: customary, ordinary, standard, typical, usual · Opposite: unconventional, nonstandard, unusual, special
Usual, healthy; not sick or ill or unlike oneself. John is feeling normal again.
Similar: hale, healthy, well, all oak and iron bound, buxom, fit, freck, hail, hale and hearty, in the pink of health, lusty, normal · Opposite: ill, poorly, sick, unwell, ailing, bad, crank, crook, green about the gills, icky, indisposed, infirm
sarcastic, slang, with “about” Fervently interested in a subject; obsessed. I wrote a 30-page analysis of the show’s villain because I’m very normal about them.
Similar: hale, healthy, well, all oak and iron bound, buxom, fit, freck, hail, hale and hearty, in the pink of health, lusty, normal · Opposite: ill, poorly, sick, unwell, ailing, bad, crank, crook, green about the gills, icky, indisposed, infirm
of a school Teaching teachers how to teach; teaching teachers the norms of education. My grandmother attended Mankato State Normal School; my grandfather attended Illinois State Normal University.
Of, relating to, or being a solution containing one equivalent weight of solute per litre of solution.
Describing a straight chain isomer of an aliphatic hydrocarbon, or an aliphatic compound in which a substituent is in the 1- position of such a hydrocarbon.
of a mode in an oscillating system In which all parts of an object vibrate at the same frequency (a normal mode).
of points In the default position, set for the most frequently used route.
Opposite: reverse
Perpendicular to a tangent of a curve or tangent plane of a surface. The interior normal vector of a perfect sphere always point toward the center, and the exterior normal vector directly away, and both are always collinear with the ray whose tip ends at the point of intersection, which is the intersection of all three sets of points.
Similar: at right angles to, perpendicular, orthogonal · Opposite: tangential

noun normals

countable A line or vector that is perpendicular to another line, surface, or plane.
countable A person who is healthy, normal, as opposed to one who is morbid. Subjects were grouped as Group 1 and Group 2 according to VAI, and normals, overweights and obeses according to BMI.
countable, slang A person who is normal, who fits into mainstream society, as opposed to those who live alternative lifestyles.
countable, uncountable The usual state. I was quite ill for a while, but latterly seem to have returned to normal.

Similar: mainstreamer

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: typical, natural, mean, rule, modal, pattern, convention, regular, average, formula, perpendicular, median, course, usual, ordinarily, typically

adjective

noun

Similar: mainstreamer

Translations

Every language

adj according to norms or rules

Español	normal
日本語	正常 seijō, 通常 tsūjō, 常態 jōtai
中文	正常 zhèngcháng, 通常 tōngcháng, 常態 /常态 chángtài
Português	normal
Français	normal
Deutsch	normal
Italiano	normale
Ελληνικά	φυσιολογικός fysiologikós
Română	normal
Русский	норма́льный normálʹnyj
العربية	عَادِيّ ʕādiyy
עברית	נורמלי normáli

adj usual, ordinary

Español	normal
한국어	정상의 jeongsang-ui
日本語	普通 futsū
中文	正常 zhèngcháng
हिन्दी	साधारण sādhāraṇ, ठीक ṭhīk
Português	normal
Français	normal, ordinaire
Deutsch	normal
Italiano	normale
Ελληνικά	φυσιολογικός fysiologikós
Română	obișnuit, normal, uzual
Русский	норма́льный normálʹnyj, обыкнове́нный obyknovénnyj, обы́чный obýčnyj
Tiếng Việt	bình thường
العربية	عَادِيّ ʕādiyy, طَبِيعِيّ ṭabīʕiyy
עברית	רגיל ragíl

adj healthy; not sick or ill

Español	normal, bien, sano

adj pertaining to a school to teach teachers how to teach

中文	師範 /师范 shīfàn
Français	normal

noun mathematics: a line perpendicular to another

Español	normal
한국어	법선 beopseon
日本語	法線
中文	法線 /法线 fǎxiàn
Português	normal
Français	normale
Deutsch	Normale
Ελληνικά	κάθετος káthetos
Русский	норма́ль normálʹ
Tiếng Việt	pháp tuyến

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MLA

"normal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/normal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

normal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/normal

Chicago

"normal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/normal.

BibTeX

@misc{normal_2026,
  title = {normal},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/normal},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}