eccentric
Americanadjective
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deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.; irregular; erratic; peculiar; odd.
eccentric conduct;
an eccentric person.
- Antonyms:
- conventional, customary, ordinary, regular, normal
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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.
-
(of an axis, axle, etc.) not situated in the center.
-
Machinery. having the axis or support away from the center.
an eccentric wheel.
-
Astronomy. deviating from a circular form, as an elliptic orbit.
noun
-
a person who has an unusual, peculiar, or odd personality, set of beliefs, or behavior pattern.
-
something that is unusual, peculiar, or odd.
-
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.
adjective
-
deviating or departing from convention, esp in a bizarre manner; irregular or odd
-
situated away from the centre or the axis
-
not having a common centre Compare concentric
eccentric circles
-
not precisely circular
noun
-
a person who deviates from normal forms of behaviour, esp in a bizarre manner
-
a device for converting rotary motion to reciprocating motion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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eccentricaladjective
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noneccentricadjective
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uneccentricadjective
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eccentricallyadverb
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noneccentricallyadverb
-
uneccentricallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of eccentric
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Greek ékkentr(os) “out of center” ( see ec-, center) + Latin -icus -ic
Explanation
You're most likely to encounter the adjective eccentric in a description of an unusual or quirky person — like a scatterbrained aunt who leaves her life savings to her cat. From the Greek ekkentros, "out of the center," this word originally had to do with the orbits of planets that were observed to be slightly out of whack. Eventually it came to describe people who were a little kooky, both as an adjective and as a noun, too: an eccentric is an unconventional, odd person. Think of them as following a slightly different orbit from the rest of society.
Vocabulary lists containing eccentric
List 2
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The Westing Game
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Born a Crime
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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.
See Examples For:
It is directed by Celyn Jones, who also directed Madfabulous about the Marquess of Anglesey, an eccentric 19th Century Welsh aristocrat.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Memorable cinematic roles have included a corrupt police officer in the Harrison Ford thriller "Witness" and a comedy turn in Wes Anderson's eccentric "The Royal Tenenbaums," opposite Gene Hackman.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Driven by a growing feeling that 9-to-5 jobs are a dead end, people are turning to social media to test out eccentric moneymaking schemes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Whether it was Ryan channeling designer inspo or fashion-snatching looks from the streets, the display — like the book that inspired it — was colorful and daring, inspired and eccentric and wholly unique.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
They say "asseptable” for acceptable, “asses- sories" for accessories, "essentric” for eccentric, "estatic” for ecstatic, and “estraordinary” for extraordinary.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
The film spends significant time roasting inane eccentrics like Benji but not without explaining their place in the media’s modern ecosystem.
From Salon ● May 6, 2026
He takes his time absorbing every seemingly inconsequential detail as he becomes attached to the personalities of eccentrics on their self-assigned quests to accomplish unlikely goals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
It is full of eccentrics, impish humour, and the absurdities of small-town and big-city life.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025
Created by Brian Donovan and Ed Herro, “The Sticky” finds the dark humor in this crazy scheme; but it’s also a low-key portrait of a rural Canada populated by eccentrics and petty bureaucrats.
From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2024
The problem for Kepler was that circles, eccentrics and epicycles were geometrical constructions; there was no evidence that any such gearing existed in the heavens.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
