strange

[ streynj ]

adjective

, strang·er, strang·est.

1. unusual, extraordinary, or curious; odd; queer:

   a strange remark to make.

   Synonyms: anomalous, abnormal, singular, bizarre

2. estranged, alienated, etc., as a result of being out of one's natural environment:

   I felt strange as I walked through the crowded marketplace.

3. situated, belonging, or coming from outside of one's own locality; foreign:

   to move to a strange place; strange religions.

4. outside of one's previous experience; hitherto unknown; unfamiliar:

   strange faces; strange customs.

   Antonyms: familiar

5. unaccustomed to or inexperienced in; unacquainted (usually followed by to ):

   I'm strange to this part of the job.

   Antonyms: familiar

6. distant or reserved; shy.

   Synonyms: aloof

   Antonyms: familiar

adverb

1. in a strange manner.

strange

/ streɪndʒ /

adjective

1. odd, unusual, or extraordinary in appearance, effect, manner, etc; peculiar
2. not known, seen, or experienced before; unfamiliar

   a strange land

3. not easily explained

   a strange phenomenon

4. usually foll by to inexperienced (in) or unaccustomed (to)

   strange to a task

5. not of one's own kind, locality, etc; alien; foreign
6. shy; distant; reserved
7. strange to say
   it is unusual or surprising that
8. physics
   1. denoting a particular flavour of quark
   2. denoting or relating to a hypothetical form of matter composed of such quarks

      a strange star

      strange matter

adverb

1. not_standard.
   in a strange manner

Derived Forms

• ˈstrangely, adverb

Other Words From

• strangely adverb
• un·strange adjective
• un·strangely adverb
• un·strangeness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of strange¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus; extraneous

Word History and Origins

Origin of strange¹

C13: from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus foreign; see extraneous

Synonym Study

Strange, peculiar, odd, queer refer to that which is out of the ordinary. Strange implies that the thing or its cause is unknown or unexplained; it is unfamiliar and unusual: a strange expression. That which is peculiar mystifies, or exhibits qualities not shared by others: peculiar behavior. That which is odd is irregular or unconventional, and sometimes approaches the bizarre: an odd custom. Queer sometimes adds to odd the suggestion of something abnormal and eccentric: queer in the head.

Example Sentences

Bright and bloody, sandblasted and sunworn, it has the visual crispness of the first and doesn’t bear the strange desaturated look of some of the director’s recent work.

From Los Angeles Times

Kids organized when they saw strange fruit, people swinging from trees for daring to say, "I want to read. I want a good education. I want to vote."

From Salon

Washington: “Barbenheimer” — which is strange that that flows off the tongue.

From Los Angeles Times

I remember thinking that was strange, as I’d never been around a kid who just burst into song like that, even though she was pretty darn good,” Cher wrote.

From Salon

At the gym, we noticed a strange atmosphere - with a suspicious number of his own cameras pointed at us.

From BBC

Related Words

• astonishing
• bizarre
• curious
• different
• extraordinary
• fantastic
• funny
• new
• odd
• offbeat
• outlandish
• peculiar
• rare
• remarkable
• unusual
• weird
• wonderful