nonstandard

[ non-stan-derd ]
/ ˈnɒnˈstæn dərd /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR nonstandard ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not standard.
not conforming in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc., to the usage characteristic of and considered acceptable by most educated native speakers; lacking in social prestige or regionally or socially limited in use: a nonstandard dialect; nonstandard English. Compare standard(def 27).
Mathematics. of or relating to a generalized system of numbers that includes the real numbers but also includes infinite and infinitesimal numbers: nonstandard analysis.

Origin of nonstandard

First recorded in 1920–25; non- + standard

usage note for nonstandard

A term labeled Nonstandard in this dictionary is one that is thought to be characteristic of the speech of persons with little education—a term that is often regarded as a marker of low social status.

Words nearby nonstandard

nonspecific immunity, nonspecific protein, nonspecific urethritis, nonspecular reflection, nonsporting, nonstandard, nonstarter, nonstative, nonsteroidal, nonstick, nonstoichiometric

Words related to nonstandard

abnormal, psycho, weird, deviant, ill-formed, atypical, bizarre, different, flaky, mental, odd, off-color, peculiar, strange, unusual, off-base, improper, inaccurate, incorrect, imprecise

Example sentences from the Web for nonstandard

  • Alternatively, the cancer could have spread during the nine months that Jobs was experimenting with nonstandard therapies.

    Jobs’s Unorthodox Treatment |Sharon Begley |October 6, 2011 |DAILY BEAST

  • Oh, you mean riding public transit in a nonstandard way isn't a crime?

    Little Brother |Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for nonstandard

nonstandard
/ (nɒnˈstændəd) /

adjective

denoting or characterized by idiom, vocabulary, etc, that is not regarded as correct and acceptable by educated native speakers of a language; not standard
deviating from a given standard