Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
mean deviation from the mean

mean deviation from the mean

8.1
The average distance of each number from the group's average
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : desviación media respecto a la media
  • To summarize the spread of exam scores, the teacher calculated the mean deviation from the mean.

Examples

  • When analyzing data variability, some researchers prefer the mean deviation from the mean over the standard deviation.

  • The mean deviation from the mean provides a simple measure of statistical dispersion.

  • The mean deviation from the mean is useful.

  • Can you find the mean deviation from the mean?

  • The mean deviation from the mean helps statisticians understand how spread out the data points are.

  • In her report, she included the mean deviation from the mean to highlight the variability in the results.

  • The mean deviation from the mean is often used to assess the consistency of test scores.

Synonyms

mean deviation
vsmean deviation from the mean
  • Specialized
7.1

A measure showing how much numbers differ from their average

is the same statistical measure expressed with the standard technical name
average deviation
vsmean deviation from the mean
  • Specialized
6.0

A number that shows how far numbers usually are from the middle value

limits that central point to the arithmetic centre rather than any central measure
average absolute deviation
vsmean deviation from the mean
  • Specialized
8.1

A number that shows the typical distance of numbers in a set from their middle value

focuses only on using the arithmetic centre instead of alternative central values

Surface Forms

mean deviation from the mean singular
mean deviations from the mean plural

Morphology

mean + deviation + from + the + mean

The phrase is fully compositional: 'deviation' = difference or departure, 'from the mean' specifies that differences are measured relative to the average, and the initial 'mean' indicates taking an average of those differences. This standard statistical composition is cross-linguistically regular and therefore a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer it, despite the term's technical nature.

Etymology

Mean deviation from the mean shows in a simple way how far values are from the center. Imagine each number on a line and measure the distance to the mean for each one. The 'average' of those distances is the mean deviation, so it tells you the data's 'spread'.