stranger

[ streyn-jer ]
See synonyms for: strangerstrangers on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance: He is a perfect stranger to me.

  2. a newcomer in a place or locality: a stranger in town.

  1. an outsider: They want no strangers in on the club meetings.

  2. a person who is unacquainted with or unaccustomed to something (usually followed by to): He is no stranger to poverty.

  3. a person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest: Our town shows hospitality to strangers.

  4. Law. one not privy or party to an act, proceeding, etc.

Origin of stranger

1
1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French estrangier, equivalent to estrange strange + -ier -ier2

synonym study For stranger

1, 5. Stranger, foreigner both refer to someone regarded as outside of or distinct from a particular group. Stranger may apply to one who does not belong to some group—social, professional, national, etc.—or may apply to a person with whom one is not acquainted. Foreigner emphasizes a difference in language, customs, and background.

Opposites for stranger

Other words from stranger

  • stran·ger·like, adjective

Words Nearby stranger

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

How to use stranger in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stranger

stranger

/ (ˈstreɪndʒə) /


noun
  1. any person whom one does not know

  2. a person who is new to a particular locality, from another region, town, etc

  1. a guest or visitor

  2. (foll by to) a person who is unfamiliar (with) or new (to) something: he is no stranger to computers

  3. law a person who is neither party nor privy to a transaction

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