strange
Americanadjective
-
stranger,
comparative
-
strangest
superlative
-
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.
- 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
-
odd, unusual, or extraordinary in appearance, effect, manner, etc; peculiar
-
not known, seen, or experienced before; unfamiliar
a strange land
-
not easily explained
a strange phenomenon
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(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
-
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
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Overall, it’s “such a strange time” for stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Dozens of people have told the BBC about receiving a strange message from the clothing and beauty store's app, appearing on their phone screens.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
What a long, strange hero’s journey it’s been.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
From coast to coast, the country’s richest programs are wrestling with a strange problem in college football’s NIL era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Angrily, the strange wolf pushed him away, and he fell backwards.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Tishman Speyer is no stranger to the famous 77-story office tower: the developer bought the lease at auction in 1997 and finished fully divesting from it in 2019.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Volvo Cars, a Swedish carmaker owned by a Chinese company that has a factory and material sales in the U.S., is no stranger to straddling geopolitical divides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
And the person next to you, a stranger, feels it too, at the exact same moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Once again it contained a photo of a complete stranger wearing Kev's prized possession – this time in Barcelona.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
A farmer, his son, and his son’s mule, Belle, saved by a mysterious stranger.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Still, this is probably the strangest rebrand we’ve seen so far, partly because there was no public impetus for such a visible change.
From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026
Herzog’s adventurous spirit has led him to explore the furthest reaches of the globe, but also inward to map the strangest recesses of the heart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Among the many surprises uncovered by the James Webb Space Telescope, one of the strangest has been a large population of tiny, intensely red objects known as Little Red Dots.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The dispute is one of the strangest legal battles to emerge from the dark days of the pandemic and shows the unconventional tactics companies deploy when trying to collect from governments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Aru had the strangest impulse to reach into herself as if she might pluck out her own soul.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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.
