strange
Americanadjective
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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.
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situated, belonging, or coming from outside of one's own locality; foreign.
to move to a strange place; strange religions.
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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
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shy; distant; reserved
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it is unusual or surprising that
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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
Related Words
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
- strangely adverb
- unstrange adjective
- unstrangely adverb
- unstrangeness noun
Etymology
Origin of strange
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus; extraneous
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.
This may be a strange and foreign idea for some to parse, but it’s true nonetheless.
From Salon
It might seem like a strange step, jumping the gun before a full ruling.
From BBC
"Uranus's magnetosphere is one of the strangest in the Solar System," added Paola.
From Science Daily
But over the past few days, something strange has happened: The Canadians have looked shockingly mortal.
As Saturday night prime-time drama goes, curling might seem a strange choice.
From BBC
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.
