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Synonym Chooser

How is the word bizarre different from other adjectives like it?

The words fantastic and grotesque are common synonyms of bizarre. While all three words mean "conceived, made, or carried out without adherence to truth or reality," bizarre applies to the sensationally strange and implies violence of contrast or incongruity of combination.

a bizarre medieval castle in the heart of a modern city

When can fantastic be used instead of bizarre?

While the synonyms fantastic and bizarre are close in meaning, fantastic may connote extravagance in conception or ingenuity of decorative invention.

dreamed up fantastic rumors

When might grotesque be a better fit than bizarre?

Although the words grotesque and bizarre have much in common, grotesque may apply to what is conventionally ugly but artistically effective or it may connote ludicrous awkwardness or incongruity often with sinister or tragic overtones.

grotesque statues on the cathedral
though grieving, she made a grotesque attempt at a smile

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bizarre While Hackman’s three adult children weren’t listed as beneficiaries in either will, due to the bizarre nature of the actor and Arakawa’s death and New Mexico’s community property laws, the Hackman children are in line for the actor’s share as his only living heirs. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2025 The company responded by refunding $99 of your $803 purchase — yet another bizarre twist in your dystopian appliance story. Christopher Elliott, King Features Syndicate, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2025 Helena’s bizarre breakfast included a tip-off toward Irving’s fate, but how to interpret it is still up for debate. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025 Going into season three, our characters in both the past and present are eager to claim a sense of normalcy amid the bizarre occult chaos that is their lives. Abby Monteil, Them, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bizarre
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bizarre
Adjective
  • Undermining tax collections and the IRS goes hand in glove with Trump’s absurd belief that the U.S. federal government can or should try to fund itself primarily via tariffs.
    New York Daily News, Twin Cities, 16 Mar. 2025
  • The more absurd or humorous examples, like the animation of Irving that plays at his funeral, can also be disconcerting.
    Abigail Lee, Variety, 15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • But a blinkered narrative coupled with misty-eyed aesthetic choices yield a strange and scattershot result.
    Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Yet even on the Right, setting policy based on birth rates might have seemed strange a few years ago, when the Republican Party was best known for its libertarian emphasis on free markets and economic growth.
    Haisten Willis, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Your voice is insane.
    Mary Colurso | mcolurso@al.com, al, 4 Apr. 2023
  • But obviously winning the grand jury prize was insane.
    Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 31 Mar. 2023
Adjective
  • The weirdest thing about it relative to those older pre-M2 Airs is still the display notch, a small cutout at the top of the screen that houses the camera.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Yes and no, which is a really weird thing about me.
    Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • No matter what your feelings are about Sternberg and his executive team today, these are not foolish people.
    John Romano, Orlando Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2025
  • There's nothing foolish about choosing beauty over practicality if that's what your heart desires.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The Mountain West got four teams in the bracket, but Boise State was the odd one out despite wins over Clemson and Saint Mary’s.
    Tess DeMeyer, The Athletic, 17 Mar. 2025
  • While early iterations of generative AI often yielded odd or impractical results, today’s models rival professionals thanks to decades of breakthroughs.
    Haokun Qin, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Comfortable Hiking Boots Columbia Women's Newton Ridge Hiking Boots The hiking opportunities in Puerto Rico are unreal, with plenty of waterfalls, rugged coastline, and lush rainforest trails to choose from.
    Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 6 Mar. 2025
  • It’s got an immersive screen that makes games look unreal, and the OLED panel blows everything else out of the water with its colors and contrast.
    Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Not the most memorable, but Myers’s flail-laughing at his own insufferable jokes remains a pretty funny encapsulation of Musk’s self-satisfied riffing.
    Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2025
  • Know your audience—What one person finds funny, another might not.
    Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bizarre.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bizarre. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on bizarre

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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