strange

[ streynj ]

/ streɪndʒ /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: strange / stranger / strangely on Thesaurus.com

adjective, strang·er, strang·est.

unusual, extraordinary, or curious; odd; queer: a strange remark to make.

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.

unaccustomed to or inexperienced in; unacquainted (usually followed by to): I'm strange to this part of the job.

distant or reserved; shy.

adverb

in a strange manner.

OTHER WORDS FOR strange

1 bizarre, singular, abnormal, anomalous.

6 aloof.

See synonyms for strange on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR strange

4-6 familiar.

See antonyms for strange on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of strange

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus;see extraneous

synonym study for strange

1. 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 WORDS FROM strange

strangely, adverbun·strange, adjectiveun·strange·ly, adverbun·strange·ness, noun

Words nearby strange

strand, stranded, strand line, Strandloper, strand wolf, strange, strange attractor, strange bedfellows, Strange Interlude, strange loop, strange matter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use strange in a sentence

Even in the spring, says Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at LSU Health Sciences-Shreveport and another senior author, it was clear that something was strange about Louisiana’s outbreak.
Can Louisiana’s COVID surge trace back to one Mardi Gras reveler?|Philip Kiefer|February 11, 2021|Popular-Science
While that might sound a little strange, if your heated throw has a plug and runs on electricity—well, that’s an appliance.
Best heated throw blanket: Bundle up with these electric blankets|PopSci Commerce Team|February 11, 2021|Popular-Science
This rebuttal proffers a strange theory of governance that American accounts are somehow bound by the lifetime of its generations.
'Uncomfortable truth’: The new push for a slavery reparations commission in Congress|DeNeen L. Brown|February 10, 2021|Washington Post
After months of eating alone, it sounded strange to my ears.
Love, Loneliness, and the Chicken in My Freezer|Elazar Sontag|February 9, 2021|Eater

It’s no longer strange to see Tom Brady in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform.
Tom Brady, the one-man dynasty, was Tampa Bay’s perfect missing piece|Jerry Brewer|February 8, 2021|Washington Post
In front of this strange structure are two blank-faced, well-dressed models showing off the latest in European minimalism.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a bit strange for a while here with all the Newsweek stuff.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Strange Social History of Our Most Intimate Institution.
The Real Story Behind the Fight for Marriage Equality|E.J. Graff|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In another year, stories about the strange new face of an A-list actress might draw chortles and cackles.
Renée Zellweger Got a New Face—and Everyone Had An Opinion About It|Kevin O’Keeffe|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Like, OK, to be around them when we were away from work is great, but being at work was still kind of strange for me.
How A Company’s Support of Gay Employees Helped One of Them To Come Out||December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It seems very strange that I shall actually know Liszt at last, after hearing of him so many years.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
He did believe you, more or less, and what you said fell in with his own impressions—strange impressions that they were, poor man!
Confidence|Henry James
The associations of place recall her strange interview with Mr. Longcluse but a few months before.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Almost as soon as she had finished building her nest she had discovered a strange-looking egg there.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
Her feet felt rooted to the floor in the wonder and doubt of this strange occurrence.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden

British Dictionary definitions for strange

strange

/ (streɪndʒ) /

adjective

odd, unusual, or extraordinary in appearance, effect, manner, etc; peculiar

not known, seen, or experienced before; unfamiliara strange land

not easily explaineda strange phenomenon

(usually foll by to) inexperienced (in) or unaccustomed (to)strange to a task

not of one's own kind, locality, etc; alien; foreign

shy; distant; reserved

strange to say 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 quarksstrange matter; a strange star

adverb

not standard in a strange manner

Derived forms of strange

strangely, adverb

Word Origin for strange

C13: from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus foreign; see extraneous

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

strange

OTHER WORDS FOR strange

OPPOSITES FOR strange

Origin of strange

synonym study for strange

OTHER WORDS FROM strange

Words nearby strange

Words related to strange

How to use strange in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for strange

Derived forms of strange

Word Origin for strange