strange
Americanadjective
-
unusual, extraordinary, or curious; odd; queer.
a strange remark to make.
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estranged, alienated, etc., as a result of being out of one's natural environment.
I felt strange as I walked through the crowded marketplace.
-
situated, belonging, or coming from outside of one's own locality; foreign.
to move to a strange place; strange religions.
-
outside of one's previous experience; hitherto unknown; unfamiliar.
strange faces; strange customs.
- Antonyms:
- familiar
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unaccustomed to or inexperienced in; unacquainted (usually followed byto ).
I'm strange to this part of the job.
- Antonyms:
- familiar
-
distant or reserved; shy.
- Synonyms:
- aloof
- Antonyms:
- familiar
adverb
adjective
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odd, unusual, or extraordinary in appearance, effect, manner, etc; peculiar
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not known, seen, or experienced before; unfamiliar
a strange land
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not easily explained
a strange phenomenon
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(usually foll by to) inexperienced (in) or unaccustomed (to)
strange to a task
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not of one's own kind, locality, etc; alien; foreign
-
shy; distant; reserved
-
it is unusual or surprising that
-
physics
-
denoting a particular flavour of quark
-
denoting or relating to a hypothetical form of matter composed of such quarks
strange matter
a strange star
-
adverb
Synonym Usage
Strange, peculiar, odd, queer refer to that which is out of the ordinary. Strange implies that the thing or its cause is unknown or unexplained; it is unfamiliar and unusual: a strange expression. That which is peculiar mystifies, or exhibits qualities not shared by others: peculiar behavior. That which is odd is irregular or unconventional, and sometimes approaches the bizarre: an odd custom. Queer sometimes adds to odd the suggestion of something abnormal and eccentric: queer in the head.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of strange
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus; see extraneous
Explanation
Anything that is unusual or out of the ordinary can be described as strange, like the strange sight of an ice cream truck pulling up in front of your school and your principal skipping over to it. The adjective strange comes from Latin word extraneus, meaning “foreign” or “external.” If someone approaches you speaking with a strange accent, it means you can't identify where the person is from, not that he or she is odd or weird — the newer meaning of strange. But remember, it once was a strange sight to see a person talking on a cell phone; when the unknown becomes known, it is no longer strange.
Vocabulary lists containing strange
Uncanny, Creepy, or Downright Scary: Words For Halloween
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Song: Go and catch a falling star" by John Donne
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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:
Things are so strange that even a routine announcement of the Fed chair’s usual postdecision press conference on Wednesday made news.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
We understand that Catherine has her reasons, and in a strange way we want to see her carry out her mission.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
She describes getting into the prestigious university as "a massive deal" but she found the atmosphere strange and experienced some snobbery about her working class accent.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
With Parsons now adapting the Backrooms for a feature-length horror thriller, the strange fictive world is rapidly entering mainstream discourse.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
What if somehow I’m wrong about this and it’s just a strange coincidence?
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Then, on Sunday, the story got much stranger when the FDA announced that the sample provided by “Taylor Farms de Mexico,” which had initially tested positive, was actually a false positive.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
How could he embrace this stranger as his twin?
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Spark was much stranger: Waugh thought she was “a saint”—her prayers were so often heard—and the novelist Shirley Hazzard said she had “X-ray eyes.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Steven Scholtysek, 36, is no stranger to Europe's heatwaves.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Then, in the midst of so many animals, an even stranger creature appeared: a human survivor.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
The strangest part is that Spain’s journey through this World Cup has unfolded almost under the radar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Progressing after one deflected goal and two defeats would be the strangest kind of achievement in the history of the national team.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
In a surreal interview with independent journalist Jim Acosta, Ohio artist Alan Cottrill described the chaotic process behind one of the strangest pieces of political iconography to emerge from Trumpworld in years.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
A survival strategy that evolved in one of nature's strangest mammals helped mice resist disease, age more smoothly, and live longer.
From Science Daily ● May 10, 2026
Genie glanced over at Grandma, who was glaring back at him with the strangest look on her face.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
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.
