oddity

[od-i-tee]

noun

plural

oddities 

1. an odd or remarkably unusual person, thing, or event.

   Synonyms: wonder, curiosity, rarity

2. the quality of being odd; singularity, strangeness, or eccentricity.

3. an odd characteristic or trait; peculiarity.

oddity

/ ˈɒdɪtɪ /

noun

1. an odd person or thing

2. an odd quality or characteristic

3. the condition of being odd

Word History and Origins

Origin of oddity¹

First recorded in 1705–15; odd + -ity

Example Sentences

The cutesy performance shtick around a shoestring variety show — imagine Pee-wee’s Playhouse without the bewitching oddity — grows wearying.

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Now an L.A.-based writer, director and producer, Rose, 41, recalls the Austin store’s eclectic assortment of cult oddities and world cinema.

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Every phrase is for him an oddity, as if he had found some weird object in an imaginary world and was figuring out what he might do with it.

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I’m lucky I get to enjoy oddities in my life.

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But Lee would point to another defining import of that era: the PT Cruiser, Chrysler’s much-mocked oddity that unexpectedly won a cult following in the country.

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Related Words

• abnormality 
• anomaly 
• characteristic 
• curiosity 
• idiosyncrasy 
• incongruity 
• irregularity 
• peculiarity 
• phenomenon 
• quirk 
• rarity