bizarre

[ bih-zahr ]

adjective

1. markedly unusual in appearance, style, or general character and often involving incongruous or unexpected elements; outrageously or whimsically strange; odd:

   bizarre clothing; bizarre behavior.

   Synonyms: odd, strange, unusual, fantastic, grotesque, freakish, weird

bizarre

/ bɪˈzɑː /

adjective

1. odd or unusual, esp in an interesting or amusing way

Derived Forms

• biˈzarrely, adverb
• biˈzarreness, noun

Other Words From

• bi·zarrely adverb
• bi·zarreness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bizarre¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from French: “strange, odd,” from Italian bizzarro “quick to anger, choleric,” then “capricious,” then “strange, weird”; further origin disputed

Word History and Origins

Origin of bizarre¹

C17: from French: from Italian bizzarro capricious, of uncertain origin

Synonym Study

Bizarre, fantastic, grotesque, weird share a sense of deviation from what is normal or expected. Bizarre means markedly unusual or extraordinarily strange, sometimes whimsically so: bizarre costumes for Mardi Gras; bizarre behavior. Fantastic suggests a wild lack of restraint, a fancifulness so extreme as to lose touch with reality: a fantastic scheme for a series of space cities. In informal use, fantastic often means simply “exceptionally good”: a fantastic meal. Grotesque implies shocking distortion or incongruity, sometimes ludicrous, more often pitiful or tragic: a grotesque mixture of human and animal features; grotesque contrast between the forced smile and sad eyes: a gnarled tree suggesting the figure of a grotesque human being. Weird refers to that which is mysterious and apparently outside natural law, hence supernatural or uncanny: the weird adventures of a group lost in the jungle; a weird and ghostly apparition. Informally, weird means “very strange”: weird and wacky costumes; weird sense of humor.

Example Sentences

Facing removal from a House committee for her elevation of various bizarre conspiracy theories, Greene spoke for 10 minutes Thursday in an effort to distance herself from those comments.

From Washington Post

So it seems bizarre that she’s not fronting a show that is primarily political.

From Washington Post

I loved how strange it was that each body was different, each family was different, and that America has this completely bizarre relationship with death.

From Freakonomics

I think most people in the country think that it is bizarre.

From Washington Post

It’s just completely bizarre and unfair that people, and you’re going to run the Department of Education, you’re going to run the Department of Education and got no problem with it.

From Washington Blade

In a bizarre matchup, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor came for the 20-year-old singer this past July in Ibiza.

From The Daily Beast

And likewise the Easter bunny, a bizarre pagan myth if ever one there was.

From The Daily Beast

In a bizarre twist to proceedings, Miss Manners sought to have her £30 cab fare from her Kensington flat to court refunded.

From The Daily Beast

Both heroines are women, but they offer a pretty bizarre dichotomy for girls: Ice queen or ditzy princess.

From The Daily Beast

“I thought it was quite bizarre and kind of sick,” Dr. Grenci said of being introduced to the subculture in 1979.

From The Daily Beast

He had a rare gift of inventing words and phrases, and all sorts of bizarre expressions, that linger in the mind.

From Project Gutenberg

Several small kiosks at the corners and sides of the terrace give to the whole a somewhat bizarre though tasty appearance.

From Project Gutenberg

The innocent creature was sound asleep at the foot of a stand loaded with vases of bizarre form.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet in the choice of words, one may search for the bizarre and unusual rather than for the truly picturesque.

From Project Gutenberg

Among these wretches, almost wholly in tatters, some were seen in bizarre accoutrement.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• comical
• curious
• extraordinary
• fantastic
• freakish
• grotesque
• ludicrous
• odd
• offbeat
• outlandish
• peculiar
• ridiculous
• unusual
• weird