weird

[weerd]

adjective

weirder, weirdest 

1. strange; odd; bizarre.

   Wow, that’s a weird getup.

   I value our friendship, and I’m afraid if we start dating, it’ll get weird between us.

2. Informal.,  not functioning properly or as expected; unstable; broken.

   My connection is weird so I can’t tell if they’re getting my messages or not.

   The car is great except for a weird compressor that doesn't work when you run the AC at a red light.

3. involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny.

   a weird sound;

   weird lights.

   Synonyms: unearthly, spectral, preternatural, unnatural, janky, strange, peculiar, eccentric
   Antonyms: unexceptional, ordinary, normal

4. Archaic.,  concerned with or controlling fate or destiny.

noun

Chiefly Scot.

1. fate; destiny.

2. the Weirds, the Fates.

verb phrase

1. weird out,  to feel or cause to feel discomfort, confusion, or fear because of perceived strangeness.

   The cultlike admiration of some of her followers always weirded me out a little.

weird

/ wɪəd /

adjective

1. suggestive of or relating to the supernatural; eerie

2. strange or bizarre

3. archaic,  of or relating to fate or the Fates

noun

1. archaic

   1. fate or destiny

   2. one of the Fates

2. See dree

verb

1. (tr) to destine or ordain by fate; predict

Other Word Forms

• weirdly adverb
• weirdness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of weird¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun werd, wered, wird (northern form), Old English wyrd, weord; akin to worth ²; Middle English adjective originally attributive noun in phrase werde sisters “the Fates” (popularized as appellation of the witches in Macbeth )

Word History and Origins

Origin of weird¹

Old English ( ge ) wyrd destiny; related to weorthan to become, Old Norse urthr bane, Old Saxon wurd; see _worth ²

Synonym Study

weird, eerie, unearthly, uncanny refer to that which is mysterious and apparently outside natural law. Weird can refer to that which is suggestive of the fateful intervention of supernatural influences in human affairs: the weird adventures of a group lost in the jungle. Eerie refers to that which, by suggesting the ghostly, makes one's flesh creep: an eerie moaning from a deserted house. Unearthly refers to that which seems by its nature to belong to another world: an unearthly light that preceded the storm. Uncanny refers to that which is mysterious because of its apparent defiance of the laws established by experience: an uncanny ability to recall numbers. See bizarre.

Example Sentences

Soft Cell’s cover felt “twisted and strange,” Ball said, which suited the “weird couple: Marc, this gay bloke in makeup, and me, a big guy who looked like a minder.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A genre as wide-reaching and weird as this one doesn’t need golden statues to be legitimized.

Read more on Salon

“The music is so weird, I cannot follow it,” he says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"It feels a bit weird but I'm starting to feel at home again," he said after filming his first scene back.

Read more on BBC

“It’s been a weird last few months,” says Hunter Hayes, a portfolio manager at Intrepid Capital, a $1.5 billion fixed-income shop.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• awful 
• creepy 
• curious 
• eccentric 
• eerie 
• eldritch 
• freaky 
• funky 
• ghastly 
• haunting 
• horrific 
• kooky 
• magical 
• mysterious 
• outlandish 
• peculiar 
• spooky 
• strange 
• supernatural 
• unnatural 

When To Use

Spelling tips for weird

The word weird is hard to spell because the i goes before the e in many common words, like believe or chief, but weird doesn't follow this rule.  How to spell weird: To spell weird, remember that weird is weird; it doesn't follow the classic "I before E except after C" rule. Another way to remember the order of i and e in weird is that it looks weird if you spell it wierd.