outré
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of outré
First recorded in 1715–25; from French, past participle of outrer “to push beyond bounds” ( see outrage)
Explanation
Outre things are eccentric or shockingly strange. Your outre outfit might be fine to wear to a Halloween party but less appropriate for a job interview. The adjective outre is often spelled with its French accent: outré. In French, this word means "exaggerated, excessive, or extreme," and is a past participle of the verb outrer, "to carry to excess or overdo," from outre, "beyond." If something is beyond what's considered normal or ordinary, it's outre: "His one-man play was so bizarrely outre that the audience didn't know how to respond."
Vocabulary lists containing outre
English Words Derived from French, List 10
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This Week In Culture: January 25–31, 2019
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The Call of Chtulhu
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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.
Outre cette garniture de tête ils en ont assez communément une autre qu'ils mettent par-dessus leurs chapeaux ou leurs toques: c'est une coiffe de fil d'archal.
From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10 Asia, Part III by Hakluyt, Richard
Before leaving America, however, he committed the publication of "Outre Mer" to the Harpers, of New York, who issued it complete in two volumes in 1835.
From Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made by McCabe, James Dabney
The author of Outre Mer and Hyperion had here touched hands with millions of his brothers and sisters, and the clasp was never unloosened again while he lived.
From Children's Stories in American Literature, 1660-1860 by Wright, Henrietta Christian
Outre p. 44mer, outrés mœurs, as Mr. Walkley might say in some guarded allusion to Paul Bourget.
From Masques & Phases by Ross, Robert
Next he attempted prose in his Outre Mer, Driftwood Essays and the romances Hyperion and Kavanagh.
From Outlines of English and American Literature : an Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived by Long, William Joseph
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.
