strange

1 of 2

adjective

ˈstrānj 

stranger; strangest

1

a

: different from what is usual, ordinary, or expected : odd

a strange sound

a strange person

the cat's strange behavior

b

: not before known, heard, or seen : unfamiliar

customs that were strange to him

feeling lost in a strange city

2

a

: not entirely comfortable or well : uncomfortable, ill at ease

felt a strange sensation in the pit of my stomach

I left Lady Glyde … and joined Mrs. Rubelle, with the object of kindly preventing her from feeling strange and nervous in consequence of the uncertainty of her situation.

—Wilkie Collins

b

dated : discouraging familiarities : reserved, distant

… why did you break off our confidences and become quite strange to me?

—George Bernard Shaw

3

: unaccustomed sense 2

She was strange to his ways.

4

a

: not native to or naturally belonging in a place : of external origin, kind, or character

b

archaic : of, relating to, or characteristic of another country : foreign

strangely adverb

strange

2 of 2

noun

often attributive

: a fundamental quark that has an electric charge of −¹/₃ and a measured energy of approximately 150 MeV

also : the flavor characterizing this particle

Synonyms

Adjective

• bizarre
• bizarro
• cranky
• crazy
• curious
• eccentric
• erratic
• far-out
• funky
• funny
• kinky
• kooky
• kookie
• odd
• off-kilter
• off-the-wall
• offbeat
• out-of-the-way
• outlandish
• outré
• peculiar
• quaint
• queer
• queerish
• quirky
• remarkable
• rum [chiefly British]
• screwy
• spaced-out
• wacky
• whacky
• way-out
• weird
• weirdo
• wild

Choose the Right Synonym for strange

strange, singular, unique, peculiar, eccentric, erratic, odd, quaint, outlandish mean departing from what is ordinary, usual, or to be expected.

strange stresses unfamiliarity and may apply to the foreign, the unnatural, the unaccountable.

a journey filled with strange sights

singular suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness.

a singular feeling of impending disaster

unique implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel.

a career unique in the annals of science

peculiar implies a marked distinctiveness.

the peculiar status of America's First Lady

eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior.

the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers

erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating.

a friend's suddenly erratic behavior

odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected.

an odd sense of humor

quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness.

a quaint fishing village

outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric.

outlandish fashions of the time

Examples of strange in a Sentence

Adjective

Does his behavior seem strange to you?

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

That is one of the strangest creatures I have ever seen.

He gave me a strange look.

Strange as it may seem, I don't like walking barefoot on the grass.

It's strange that nobody told me about this before.

That's strange. He was here a minute ago.

The strange thing is that nobody saw him enter or leave the building.

Children are taught not to talk to strange people.

The language was strange to me.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

At the time, federal law gave the Bureau a strange grab bag of investigative duties, ranging from interstate prostitution to antitrust violations. —Beverly Gage, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2024

When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 Dec. 2024

Christmas entertainment can sometimes be criticized for being treacly and cliché, but The Year Without a Santa Claus subverts those stereotypes with its zany characters, who act in the strange, contradictory ways, like real people do. —Victoria Edel, People.com, 10 Dec. 2024

That would be Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), a mysterious warrior with strange powers. —EW.com, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English straunge, strange, straynge "foreign, unfamiliar, from elsewhere, unusual, aloof," borrowed from Anglo-French estrange, estraunge "outside the family, foreign, unusual, marvelous" (continental Old French estrange), going back to Latin extrāneus "not belonging to one's family or household, coming from abroad, foreign, external," from extrā "outside, beyond the boundaries of" + -āneus, adjective suffix — more at extra-

Note: For more on the suffix -āneus see the etymology and note at spontaneous. The immediate model for extrāneus was perhaps phrasal derivatives (as circumforāneus "connected with the business of the forum, itinerant," mediterrāneus "remote from the coast, inland") that deal with spatial relationships. The counterpart adjective intrāneus is not attested until about the fifth century.

Noun

derivative of strange entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4b

Noun

1974, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing strange

• for some strange reason
• strange bedfellows
• strange to say

Kids Definition

strange

adjective

ˈstrānj

stranger; strangest

1

: not native to or naturally belonging in a place

2

a

: not known, heard, or seen before

strange surroundings

b

: causing surprise or wonder because not usual : noticeably unusual

strange clothes

3

: uneasy sense 1

feels strange on the first day of school

strangely adverb

strangeness noun

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English strange "foreign," from early French estrange (same meaning), from Latin extraneus, literally, "external, coming from the outside," from extra "outside" — related to extra-