ATYPICAL

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does atypical mean? 

• ATYPICAL (adjective)
  The adjective ATYPICAL has 2 senses:

1. not representative of a group, class, or type

2. deviating from normal expectations; somewhat odd, strange, or abnormal

  Familiarity information: ATYPICAL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ATYPICAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not representative of a group, class, or type

Synonyms:

atypic; atypical; untypical

Context example:

atypical behavior is not the accepted type of response that we expect from children

Similar:

unrepresentative (not exemplifying a class)

Also:

uncharacteristic (distinctive and not typical)

abnormal; unnatural (not normal; not typical or usual or regular or conforming to a norm)

Attribute:

typicality (the state of being that is typical)

Antonym:

typical (exhibiting the qualities or characteristics that identify a group or kind or category)

Derivation:

atypicality (any state that is not typical)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Deviating from normal expectations; somewhat odd, strange, or abnormal

Synonyms:

atypical; irregular

Context example:

highly irregular behavior

Similar:

abnormal; unnatural (not normal; not typical or usual or regular or conforming to a norm)

Derivation:

atypicality (any state that is not typical)

 Context examples 

Having atypical ductal hyperplasia increases the risk of breast cancer.

(Atypical ductal hyperplasia, NCI Dictionary)

Mitotic activity is present and the mitoses may be atypical.

(Pancreatic Mucinous-Cystic Neoplasm with High Grade Dysplasia, NCI Thesaurus)

A variant of mycosis fungoides, characterized by an exclusively intraepidermal atypical (cerebriform) lymphocytic infiltrate.

(Pagetoid Reticulosis, NCI Thesaurus)

About one out of every ten people has at least one unusual (or atypical) mole that looks different from an ordinary mole.

(Moles, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Cells forming papillary structures are frequently more hyperchromatic and atypical, which is regarded as indication of potential progression towards malignancy.

(Papillary Adenoma of the Mouse Pulmonary System, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

Having atypical ductal breast hyperplasia increases the risk of breast cancer.

(Atypical ductal breast hyperplasia, NCI Dictionary)

A microscopic finding indicating the presence of an atypical neoplastic cellular infiltrate with cytologic characteristics and/or architectural patterns that are not diagnostic, but raise the possibility of malignancy.

(Atypia Suspicious for Malignancy, NCI Thesaurus)

A representative example is thyroid gland atypical follicular adenoma.

(Atypical Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Focal and diffuse lesions involving alveoli and respiratory bronchioles and consisting of relatively uniform atypical cuboidal to columnar cells with dense chromatin.

(Atypical Adenomatous Hyperplasia of the Mouse Pulmonary System, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

Larsen B's disintegration was preceded by an atypical heatwave that riddled it with meltwater ponds, focusing researchers' attention on pond fracturing, also called hydrofracturing.

(Reframing the dangers Antarctica's meltwater ponds pose to ice shelves and sea level, National Science Foundation)