idiosyncrasy
Americannoun
-
a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.
- Synonyms:
- quirk, peculiarity
-
the physical constitution peculiar to an individual.
-
a peculiarity of the physical or the mental constitution, especially susceptibility toward drugs, food, etc.
noun
-
a tendency, type of behaviour, mannerism, etc, of a specific person; quirk
-
the composite physical or psychological make-up of a specific person
-
an abnormal reaction of an individual to specific foods, drugs, or other agents
Synonym Usage
See eccentricity.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of idiosyncrasy
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Greek idiosynkrāsía, equivalent to idio- idio- + syn- syn- + krâs(is) “a blending” + -ia -y 3
Explanation
If a person has an idiosyncrasy, he or she has a little quirk, or a funny behavior, that makes him or her different. If you only say goodbye in French, never in English, that would be an idiosyncrasy. Idio seems like it means stupid, but really it is Latin for "one's own," as an idiosyncrasy is one's own particular, usually odd, behavior. Putting salt in your hot chocolate or needing the light on to sleep or tapping your head while you think are all idiosyncrasies. A machine such as a DVD player has an idiosyncrasy if you have to do something weird to it to make it work like having to bang it on the back left-hand side to stop it from skipping.
Vocabulary lists containing idiosyncrasy
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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.
Such idiosyncracy seems to be a hallmark of the 1920s and 30s, when that first generation of Hollywood actors attempted to gain a foothold, or earhold, in the brand-new landscape of sound cinema.
From The Guardian • May 15, 2013
Unlike, say, Rhys Darby's childhood tales elsewhere on the fringe, Pascoe's schooldays material has the specificity and idiosyncracy of lived experience, not cliche.
From The Guardian • Aug. 14, 2012
Kael’s resistance to any semblance of being systematic—the stubborn idiosyncracy of her passions—could be both a weakness and a strength in her work.
From Slate • Oct. 27, 2011
Their chief idiosyncracy is that they keep Manidou, a huge pet shark, in a specially built tank that has an outlet to the sea.
From Time Magazine Archive
In all his best work there is originality, a rare and precious idiosyncracy; his point of view, his themes are rich with it.
From The Letters of Ambrose Bierce With a Memoir by George Sterling by Bierce, Ambrose
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.
