unorthodox
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unorthodox
Explanation
Unorthodox describes something that goes against the usual ways of doing things. Instead of describing yourself as a terrible speller, you might instead proudly refer to your spelling as unorthodox. The adjective unorthodox originally referred to religion, specifically to a person or practice that went against the traditions of a particular belief. The Greek roots of unorthodox are orthos, or "right," and doxa, or "opinion." So someone whose beliefs are orthodox has "the right opinion," while an unorthodox person does not. The definition has evolved so that unorthodox's meaning is closer to "unusual" or "innovative" than just plain "wrong."
Vocabulary lists containing unorthodox
Power Prefix: un-
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Brave New World
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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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.
Appeared in the October 30, 2025, print edition as 'Aflac’s Unorthodox Ascent'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025
Tony’s written a new book called Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, which, I’ll be honest, is total bait for Decoder.
From The Verge • May 3, 2022
Yes, say women of the Yeshivish community in this suburban hamlet 30 miles north of Manhattan, some of whom are upset by how they are portrayed on Netflix’s popular reality series “My Unorthodox Life.”
From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2021
Unorthodox policies were bound to provoke unorthodox critiques, whose common theme is: How do we make sure the Fed really operates in the public interest, as opposed to enabling unproductive or even predatory private activity?
From Washington Post • Oct. 13, 2021
"Unorthodox, but, by heavens, I like it!" he said.
From Sons and Fathers by Edwards, Harry Stillwell
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.
