strange
Americanadjective
-
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
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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:
The idea that the forceful pursuit of victory is somehow unfair or underhanded would be a strange one for a political consultant to hold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Humans and every other vertebrate may share an astonishingly strange ancestor: a tiny creature with a single eye centered on the top of its head.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
A high credit score and low credit limit are not necessarily strange bedfellows.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
When I do sleep, I often have strange dreams.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The cub wriggled out of the strange wolf’s grip, put his forepaws on its chest, and stood on his hind legs.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Because I’m a stranger who people regularly turn to for financial help, my inbox typically overflows with general questions like the one above.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
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
“If you follow his advice, this handsome stranger can save you from harm.”
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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
The strangest moment of the day came in the Mission League 100 girls’ final.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
The strangest part is that this has happened under Cohen, whose fortune was supposed to transform the Mets into a perennial juggernaut alongside the free-spending Dodgers and New York Yankees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
And the third was the strangest thing of all.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
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.
