outlandish
Americanadjective
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freakishly or grotesquely strange or odd, as appearance, dress, objects, ideas, or practices; bizarre.
outlandish clothes; outlandish questions.
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having a foreign appearance.
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remote from civilized areas; out-of the-way.
an outlandish settlement.
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Archaic. foreign; alien.
adjective
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grotesquely unconventional in appearance, habits, etc
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archaic foreign
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of outlandish
before 1000; Middle English; Old English ūtlendisc. See outland, -ish 1
Explanation
If something is outlandish it's bizarre or unfamiliar, far outside the boundaries of expected or normal behavior. Driving around the city in a golf cart and eating spaghetti with pineapple sauce are both examples of outlandish behavior. It's easy to imagine how the word outlandish originated. The Old English root is utland, which literally means "out-land," or foreign. Now, it would be inappropriate to refer to a foreigner as outlandish, unless, say, he shows up to the office in a red patent-leather Speedo and a ten-gallon hat.
Vocabulary lists containing outlandish
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 8
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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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.
Reddick loads her genre-blurring tale with outlandish intrigue involving Soviet spies, a capitalist cult and a roving choir that doubles as a Greek chorus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
“There’s always kind of a kernel of truth in what he says, but he goes way beyond it and has all these outlandish claims.”
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
When insurers refuse to pay what they consider outlandish or unjustified claims, some providers pursue people directly, dragging families into financial and legal turmoil and disrupting care for disabled children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
I know — some people may think this is an outlandish idea.
From MarketWatch ● May 1, 2026
Since I’d been lucky enough to see a hippopotamus in a touring circus in Austin, maybe my wishes weren’t so outlandish.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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.
