unusual

[ uhn-yoo-zhoo-uhl, -yoozh-wuhl ]

/ ʌnˈyu ʒu əl, -ˈyuʒ wəl /

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adjective

not usual, common, or ordinary; uncommon in amount or degree; exceptional: an unusual sound; an unusual hobby; an unusual response.

Nearby words

Origin of unusual

First recorded in 1575–85; un-¹ + usual

SYNONYMS FOR unusual

extraordinary, remarkable; rare, strange, singular, curious, queer, odd.

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Related formsun·u·su·al·ly, adverbun·u·su·al·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unusual

Each individual race involves an unusual collaboration between researchers, manufacturers, and public-health entities.
The Race for the Ebola Vaccine|Abby Haglage|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So, in an unusual order (PDF) issued on New Years Day, District Judge Robert Hinkle clarified the issue.
The Back Alley, Low Blow-Ridden Fight to Stop Gay Marriage in Florida Is Finally Over|Jay Michaelson|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The weather on the route of AirAsia Flight 8501 was not unusual for the region and the season.
Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501?|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is an unusual kind of patriotism in the name of national security.
Why Did We Panic After 9/11 and Ignore All We Knew About Responding to Security Threats?|Deborah Pearlstein|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The unusual textures (santouri, ney, lyra, clarinets, voices) impart a mystical quality to this work.
The Best Albums of 2014|Ted Gioia|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hence the complete picture they give of life is of necessity fallacious: they can only represent what is unusual.
A Chesterton Calendar|G. K. Chesterton
Such words as these, from an employ, were unusual to say the least.
The Iron Boys in the Steel Mills|James R. Mears
She was a lady highly educated for that day, and possessed of a mind of unusual power.
Home Life of Great Authors|Hattie Tyng Griswold
The situation was most unusual and in some ways most embarrassing, also.
Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871-1888|Frances M.A. Roe
This was occasioned by the muzzles being pointed downwards into the ditch, which gave the report an unusual and appalling effect.
Twenty-Five Years in the Rifle Brigade|William Surtees

British Dictionary definitions for unusual

unusual

/ (ʌnˈjuːʒʊəl) /

adjective

out of the ordinary; uncommon; extraordinaryan unusual design

Derived Formsunusually, adverbunusualness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for unusual

unusual

adj.

1580s, from un- (1) "not" + usual. Related: Unusually.

unusual

adjective

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Origin of unusual

Examples from the Web for unusual

unusual

adjective

unusual