idiosyncrasy
Americannoun
-
a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.
- Synonyms:
- quirk, peculiarity
-
the physical constitution peculiar to an individual.
-
a peculiarity of the physical or the mental constitution, especially susceptibility toward drugs, food, etc.
noun
-
a tendency, type of behaviour, mannerism, etc, of a specific person; quirk
-
the composite physical or psychological make-up of a specific person
-
an abnormal reaction of an individual to specific foods, drugs, or other agents
Synonym Usage
See eccentricity.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of idiosyncrasy
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Greek idiosynkrāsía, equivalent to idio- idio- + syn- syn- + krâs(is) “a blending” + -ia -y 3
Explanation
If a person has an idiosyncrasy, he or she has a little quirk, or a funny behavior, that makes him or her different. If you only say goodbye in French, never in English, that would be an idiosyncrasy. Idio seems like it means stupid, but really it is Latin for "one's own," as an idiosyncrasy is one's own particular, usually odd, behavior. Putting salt in your hot chocolate or needing the light on to sleep or tapping your head while you think are all idiosyncrasies. A machine such as a DVD player has an idiosyncrasy if you have to do something weird to it to make it work like having to bang it on the back left-hand side to stop it from skipping.
Vocabulary lists containing idiosyncrasy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Idiosyncrasy and illogic abound, but with no loss of formal integrity.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2015
Idiosyncrasy /idēəˈsiNGkrəsē/ noun: a distinctive or peculiar feature or characteristic of an individual, place, or thing.
From Time • Jul. 27, 2015
Idiosyncrasy of this sort is easy for audiences to miss.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2015
Idiosyncrasy blends with thoroughness here to make a perfect oenophile's companion.
From Time Magazine Archive
Idiosyncrasy, too, may forbid their use; and this is not very rare.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 15, January, 1859 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
