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.
Nobody actually knows, but that isn’t stopping people from making some outlandish bets.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
Some of Navarrette's most outlandish scenes in "Obsession" have gone viral on social media to the point that they have become memes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
To market herself, Kusama adopted an outlandish persona, donning brightly colored bobbed wigs, and red leotards or dot-covered gowns for public appearances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
English actor Tim Curry, best known for playing the outlandish Frank-N-Furter in film musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has died at the age of 80.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
It began at the feet, especially as the strangers were dressed in outlandish clothes like knights-in-armour, and it mastered the texture, the construction, the articulation and the probable price of their sabathons.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
