I'm looking for an adverb form or synonym of the word "outlier." An example of usage:

This datapoint is _____ positive.

I've thought of disproportionately, but that word carries additional connotations that may not apply to all use cases. Thanks for any input you may have.

  • Instead of nominalizing positive, let the words be their normal parts of speech. This datapoint is a positive outlier.
    – Phil Sweet
    Jun 28 '18 at 19:25
  • I don't think that conveys the same meaning. Saying that the datapoint is a positive outlier does not necessary imply that the datapoint is an outlier because it is positive, which my original construction would.
    – nanogru
    Jun 28 '18 at 19:48
  • Nouns do usually give rise to adverbs. That said, outlying, the adjective could be made into: outlyingly situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
    – Lambie
    Jun 28 '18 at 20:08
  • No, your original doesn't suggest that, so that is part of the problem. I assumed it was just beyond the highside bound. Outlier implies a fully gradable scale. You seem to want to use it for something that has a unique attribute or is separable based on positive/negative. I wouldn't use outlier that way.
    – Phil Sweet
    Jun 28 '18 at 21:31
  • @nanogru the datapoint is an outlier because it is positive Care to explain what you mean with that? Why would a positive value automatically be an outlier?
    – Boondoggle
    Jun 29 '18 at 11:36

That datapoint is atypically positive.

1 : not typical : IRREGULAR, UNUSUAL · an atypical form of a disease · atypical weather for this area

the postal service delivered the package with atypical speed

Or, as suggested by that definition, unusually.


Non-negative with outlier would work. However, speaking as a chemist, This data point is a positive outlier. would not be construed as anything other than a non-negative number outside either the control limits or expected range.


Outlying is the adjective form of outlier, and statistical outliers can also be referred to as outlying observations.

So you could say:

This datapoint is positively outlying.

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