strange

American  

[straynj] / streɪndʒ /

adjective

• stranger,
  comparative
• strangest
  superlative

1. 

   unusual, extraordinary, or curious; odd; queer.

   a strange remark to make.

   Synonyms:

   anomalous, abnormal, singular, bizarre

2. estranged, alienated, etc., as a result of being out of one's natural environment.

   I felt strange as I walked through the crowded marketplace.

3. situated, belonging, or coming from outside of one's own locality; foreign.

   to move to a strange place; strange religions.

4. outside of one's previous experience; hitherto unknown; unfamiliar.

   strange faces; strange customs.

   Antonyms:

   familiar

5. unaccustomed to or inexperienced in; unacquainted (usually followed byto ).

   I'm strange to this part of the job.

   Antonyms:

   familiar

6. distant or reserved; shy.

   Synonyms:

   aloof

   Antonyms:

   familiar

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adverb

1. in a strange manner.

strange British  

/ streɪndʒ /

adjective

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

2. not known, seen, or experienced before; unfamiliar

   a strange land

3. not easily explained

   a strange phenomenon

4. (usually foll by to) inexperienced (in) or unaccustomed (to)

   strange to a task

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

6. shy; distant; reserved

7. it is unusual or surprising that

8. physics

   1. denoting a particular flavour of quark

   2. denoting or relating to a hypothetical form of matter composed of such quarks

      strange matter

      a strange star

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adverb

1. not_standard in a strange manner

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

• unstrangeness
  noun
• unstrange
  adjective
• strangely
  adverb
• unstrangely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• stranger
  comparative
• strangest
  superlative

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Etymology

Origin of strange

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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

strange stranger strangest

It’s in this strange almost-loft space on 2nd Street downtown, and I’ve been there three times since early July.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

The prolific novelist and short-story writer Joyce Carol Oates introduces readers to Julia, one half of a couple whose long marriage has come to contain strange, submerged, undiscussable elements in “The Disappearing.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

I found Lisandro Martinez's outburst about Manchester United's recruitment very strange, especially after his mistake that cost his side victory over Tottenham.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

With that strange mental image firmly embedded in my brain, it’s time for me to dip out.

From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026

Moving forward, I felt—the strange, humming vacuum between here and there.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Every night as she fell asleep, Varsha would watch a stranger on the internet diarising what they'd consumed that day.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Let me just say that stranger things have happened, OK?”

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

The stranger also regularly showed up with a child, and, in the process of making small talk, asked the OpenAI employee questions about their work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Unsurprisingly, her current focus is the aforementioned Hasan Piker, a man who is no stranger to controversy and has courted plenty of internet feuds of his own.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

Then, in 1852, he meets a stranger in Hanover who has big plans to set up a stagecoach line in South America between Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

What’s the strangest story you have about someone recognizing you on the street?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

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

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 social media account regularly shares videos of property listings, often highlighting some of the strangest looking houses on the market across the country.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The strangest thing had to be the streak of startling blue playing through the girl’s dirty blond hair.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

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Related Words

• astonishing
• bizarre
• curious
• different
• extraordinary
• fantastic
• funny
• new
• odd
• offbeat
• outlandish
• peculiar
• rare
• remarkable
• unusual
• weird
• wonderful

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