weird

[ weerd ]

/ wɪərd /

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See synonyms for: weird / weirder / weirds / weirdly on Thesaurus.com

adjective, weird·er, weird·est.

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.

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.

involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny: a weird sound;weird lights.

Archaic. concerned with or controlling fate or destiny.

noun Chiefly Scot.

fate; destiny.

the Weirds, the Fates.

Verb Phrases

weird out, Slang. 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR weird

1 eccentric, peculiar, strange.

2 janky.

3 unnatural, preternatural, spectral, unearthly.

See synonyms for weird on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR weird

1 normal, ordinary, unexceptional.

See antonyms for weird on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of weird

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun werd, wered, wird (northern form), Old English wyrd, weord; akin to worth²; Middle English adjective originally attributive noun in phrase werde sisters “the Fates” (popularized as appellation of the witches in Macbeth)

synonym study for weird

3. 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. 1, 3. See bizarre.

OTHER WORDS FROM weird

weird·ly, adverbweird·ness, noun

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

How to use weird in a sentence

I like his weirder, more ambitious novels even when they go off the rails.
Haruki Murakami's Weird, Wonderful World|Malcolm Jones|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Which makes it all the weirder that Hamm has appeared in exactly one blockbuster to date.
Why Can’t I Be a Movie Star, B*tch? Aaron Paul Tries in 'Need for Speed'|Andrew Romano|March 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Backstreet Boys were the boy band of choice for people who liked their boy bands a little weirder.
‘TRL’ Turns 15: The Daily Beast Staff Picks Their Favorite Moments|The Daily Beast|September 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Even weirder, one account has less than 100 followers and FLOTUS is nowhere to be seen in any of the posts.
Cookie Monster, Joe Biden and More of the White House’s Strangest Vine Posts|Kelsey Meany|June 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST

It happened in the middle of the night, which made it weirder—and more thrilling.
What Happened to Big-Screen Hunk Casper Van Dien?|Ramin Setoodeh|July 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A subtler, a weirder, a more awful horror is thus added to the dread of communion with the supernatural.
The Science of Fairy Tales|Edwin Sidney Hartland
A little behind Claggett Chew, examining the scene through a pair of jeweled lorgnettes, stood an even weirder figure.
Mr. Wicker's Window|Carley Dawson
The cars grew smaller and their lines weirder as the manufacturers strove to compete.
The Secret of the Ninth Planet|Donald Allen Wollheim
I simply deduced that Christianity must be something even weirder and wickeder than they made out.
Orthodoxy|G. K. Chesterton
Dor never dreamed a weirder, ghastlier picture than night in the Conemaugh Valley since the flood desolated it.
History of the Johnstown Flood|Willis Fletcher Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for weird

weird

/ (wɪəd) /

adjective

suggestive of or relating to the supernatural; eerie

strange or bizarre

archaic of or relating to fate or the Fates

noun

archaic, mainly Scot

fate or destiny
one of the Fates

dree one's weird Scot See dree

verb

(tr) Scot to destine or ordain by fate; predict

Derived forms of weird

weirdly, adverbweirdness, noun

Word Origin for weird

Old English (ge) wyrd destiny; related to weorthan to become, Old Norse urthr bane, Old Saxon wurd; see worth ²

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

weird

OTHER WORDS FOR weird

OPPOSITES FOR weird

Origin of weird

synonym study for weird

OTHER WORDS FROM weird

Words related to weird

How to use weird in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for weird

Derived forms of weird

Word Origin for weird