unorthodox
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unorthodox
Explanation
Unorthodox describes something that goes against the usual ways of doing things. Instead of describing yourself as a terrible speller, you might instead proudly refer to your spelling as unorthodox. The adjective unorthodox originally referred to religion, specifically to a person or practice that went against the traditions of a particular belief. The Greek roots of unorthodox are orthos, or "right," and doxa, or "opinion." So someone whose beliefs are orthodox has "the right opinion," while an unorthodox person does not. The definition has evolved so that unorthodox's meaning is closer to "unusual" or "innovative" than just plain "wrong."
Vocabulary lists containing unorthodox
Power Prefix: un-
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Brave New World
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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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.
Earlier this month, Bodytraffic celebrated its 20th anniversary in unorthodox style: by taking its final bow in Los Angeles at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
His unorthodox route to the top may be one reason why Undav hasn’t become an automatic starter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
When he received the ball in these areas under pressure, he found unorthodox ways to sweep play into the free players out wide.
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026
Micron is on an unorthodox reporting cadence, so its published results don’t line up with the traditional calendar.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 28, 2026
He made no secret that he would continue his unorthodox habit of flying to Haiti as often as possible, spending half his time in Cange and half at the Brigham to meet his residency requirements.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
