bizarre

American  

[bih-zahr] / bɪˈzɑr /

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

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bizarre British  

/ bɪˈzɑː /

adjective

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

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Related Words

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.

Pop Culture

— Bizarre: A Canadian sketch comedy television series that aired from 1980–1985 in Canada, and in the U.S. on the cable channel Showtime. —Bizarre Creations: A video game developer, based in Liverpool, England, and known for games like Blur (2010), James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010), and the Project Gotham Racing series. The name Bizarre Creations came about in 1994 when the then nameless company needed a temporary name and chose “Weird Concepts.” A staff member later used Microsoft Word's Thesaurus on the name, which came up with “Bizarre Creations.” — Mondo Bizarro: A 1966 faux travelogue that mixes often shocking documentary and mockumentary footage. The film is a successor to the 1963 film Mondo Cane, originator of the exploitation documentary genre. — Mondo Bizarro: The name of the twelfth studio album by the New York punk band The Ramones. Released in 1992. — Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: A television travel show that follows host Andrew Zimmern around the world as he tastes unusual local food. First aired in 2007 on the Travel Channel.

Other Word Forms

• bizarrely
  adverb
• bizarreness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bizarre

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

Explanation

Someone or something bizarre is odd or unusual in appearance, style, or character. If your teacher walks into class wearing a purple boa, lime-green cowboy boots, and a scuba mask, you might comment, "How bizarre!" Things that are bizarre often involve strange contrasts or unexpected elements. Bizarre was borrowed from French, from bizarro "angry, fierce, strange," from Spanish, "bold, like a knight." The Spanish word was probably influenced by Basque bizar "a beard," since beards were taken as signs of energy and spirit. Nowadays it takes more than a beard to get you labeled as bizarre. Unpredictable behavior is often called bizarre — like when your little brother decides that he will communicate only in Pig Latin.

Example Sentences

Bizarre as the sci-fi mechanics of Dylan G. and Mark S.’s situations may be, they are not so far removed from the way workers live in a post-pandemic society.

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2025

Bizarre creatures from the black ocean abyss, preserved in glass jars, line stacks of shelves in deep-sea biologist Adrian Glover's laboratory at London's Natural History Museum.

From Scientific American • Aug. 15, 2023

During his time at the Sun, Wootton edited the paper's showbiz column Bizarre, and became the paper's executive editor.

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2023

Bizarre conversations with Microsoft’s artificial intelligence chatbot freaked out tech reporters and many others.

From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2023

I take a copy of Harpers Bizarre and find a seat on a shaded bench under a tree.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Related Words

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