adjective
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slang strange; unconventional; bizarre
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another word for freakish
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of freaky
Explanation
Something freaky is so weird that it's almost scary. If you have a freaky dream, you might wake with a frightened gasp. Very strange looking animals are freaky, and creepy stories told at night around a campfire are best when they're a little freaky. An uncanny coincidence is freaky, and so are many Halloween costumes. The adjective is an informal way to say "bizarre" or "peculiar." It comes from freak, but the ultimate origin is unknown — although freak originally meant "a very sudden turn of mind."
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.
"Moss is a little bit freaky," says von Konrat.
From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026
Still, Mr. Birney’s exotically low-fi imagination makes for a freaky and feverish trip.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026
As I reported in detail for my first story at Slate, all those years ago, the market was freaky.
From Slate • Dec. 10, 2025
Tadhg Furlong: Has now started nine consecutive Lions Tests, which is just freaky in the modern age.
From BBC • Aug. 3, 2025
It had been freaky, seeing the box with our address in his handwriting.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
