eccentric

especially British, ex·cen·tric

[ik-sen-trik, ek-]

adjective

1. deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.; irregular; erratic; peculiar; odd.

   eccentric conduct;

   an eccentric person.

   Synonyms: bizarre, weird, strange
   Antonyms: conventional, customary, ordinary, regular, normal

2. Geometry.,  not having the same center; not concentric: used especially of two circles or spheres at least one of which contains the centers of both.

3. (of an axis, axle, etc.) not situated in the center.

4. Machinery.,  having the axis or support away from the center.

   an eccentric wheel.

5. Astronomy.,  deviating from a circular form, as an elliptic orbit.

noun

1. a person who has an unusual, peculiar, or odd personality, set of beliefs, or behavior pattern.

2. something that is unusual, peculiar, or odd.

3. Machinery.,  a device for converting circular motion into rectilinear motion, consisting of a disk fixed somewhat off-center to a revolving shaft, and working freely in a surrounding collar eccentricstrap, to which a rod eccentricrod is attached.

eccentric

/ ɪkˈsɛntrɪk /

adjective

1. deviating or departing from convention, esp in a bizarre manner; irregular or odd

2. situated away from the centre or the axis

3. not having a common centre Compare concentric

   eccentric circles

4. not precisely circular

noun

1. a person who deviates from normal forms of behaviour, esp in a bizarre manner

2. a device for converting rotary motion to reciprocating motion

Other Word Forms

• eccentrical adjective
• eccentrically adverb
• noneccentric adjective
• noneccentrically adverb
• uneccentric adjective
• uneccentrically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of eccentric¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Greek ékkentr(os) “out of center” ( ec-, center ) + Latin -icus -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of eccentric¹

C16: from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Greek ekkentros out of centre, from ek- _ex- ¹ + kentron centre

Example Sentences

But 30 years ago things were different — the area was hip, but it also felt effortlessly eccentric.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The designer was known for her eccentric and outlandish designs, which have also been worn by stars including Lady Gaga and Kylie Minogue.

Read more on BBC

Like that earlier work, “The Thanksgiving Visitor” is also drawn from Capote’s boyhood within a clan of eccentric relatives that included an older cousin and mother figure known as Sook.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Not only that, but the whole gruesome tale was set in rhyming verse of a most eccentric nature.

Read more on Literature

Virginia depicted herself and her husband Leonard “lying crushed under an immense manuscript of Gertrude Stein’s”—and so, literary modernism’s eccentric pioneer was rejected by its suavest representative.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bizarre 
• curious 
• erratic 
• funny 
• idiosyncratic 
• kooky 
• nutty 
• odd 
• offbeat 
• outlandish 
• peculiar 
• quirky 
• strange 
• unconventional 
• weird 
• whimsical