weird

American  

[weerd] / wɪərd /

adjective

weirder, weirdest

1. strange; odd; bizarre.

   Wow, that’s a weird getup.

   I value our friendship, and I’m afraid if we start dating, it’ll get weird between us.

2. Informal. not functioning properly or as expected; unstable; broken.

   My connection is weird so I can’t tell if they’re getting my messages or not.

   The car is great except for a weird compressor that doesn't work when you run the AC at a red light.

3. involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny.

   a weird sound;

   weird lights.

   Synonyms:

   unearthly, spectral, preternatural, unnatural, janky, strange, peculiar, eccentric

   Antonyms:

   unexceptional, ordinary, normal

4. Archaic. concerned with or controlling fate or destiny.

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noun

Chiefly Scot.

1. fate; destiny.

2. the Weirds, the Fates.

verb phrase

1. weird out to feel or cause to feel discomfort, confusion, or fear because of perceived strangeness.

   The cultlike admiration of some of her followers always weirded me out a little.

weird British  

/ wɪəd /

adjective

1. suggestive of or relating to the supernatural; eerie

2. strange or bizarre

3. archaic of or relating to fate or the Fates

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noun

1. archaic

   1. fate or destiny

   2. one of the Fates

2. See dree

verb

1. (tr) to destine or ordain by fate; predict

Usage

Spelling tips for weird The word weird is hard to spell because the i goes before the e in many common words, like believe or chief, but weird doesn't follow this rule.  How to spell weird: To spell weird, remember that weird is weird; it doesn't follow the classic "I before E except after C" rule. Another way to remember the order of i and e in weird is that it looks weird if you spell it wierd.

Related Words

weird, eerie, unearthly, uncanny refer to that which is mysterious and apparently outside natural law. Weird can refer to that which is suggestive of the fateful intervention of supernatural influences in human affairs: the weird adventures of a group lost in the jungle. Eerie refers to that which, by suggesting the ghostly, makes one's flesh creep: an eerie moaning from a deserted house. Unearthly refers to that which seems by its nature to belong to another world: an unearthly light that preceded the storm. Uncanny refers to that which is mysterious because of its apparent defiance of the laws established by experience: an uncanny ability to recall numbers. See bizarre.

Other Word Forms

• weirdly adverb
• weirdness noun

Etymology

Origin of weird

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun werd, wered, wird (northern form), Old English wyrd, weord; akin to worth ²; Middle English adjective originally attributive noun in phrase werde sisters “the Fates” (popularized as appellation of the witches in Macbeth )

Example Sentences

Here he was in a single-elimination tournament, where one weird bounce or light touch of the puck could be the difference between glory and heartbreak.

From The Wall Street Journal

He has seen One Battle After Another, and said he "was not expecting it to start the way it did", describing it as "weird" but good.

From BBC

The world's greatest sporting showcase - and a hub of weird and wonderful stories.

From BBC

The cake had a butterscotch frosting, which was brown and thus “weird.”

From The Wall Street Journal

This time Donald came early because there’s this really weird coffee robot in the production office that Donald seems to think is amazing coffee.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• awful
• creepy
• curious
• eccentric
• eerie
• eldritch
• freaky
• funky
• ghastly
• haunting
• horrific
• kooky
• magical
• mysterious
• outlandish
• peculiar
• spooky
• strange
• supernatural
• unnatural