weirdo

A weirdo is a person who behaves in ways that are considered odd or unconventional.

Weirdo is based on the adjective weird, which most commonly means strange, odd, peculiar, or bizarre. Weirdo is very informal. It can be used both negatively as an insult and positively as a compliment, depending on how you feel about someone else’s weird behavior.

Much less commonly, weirdo can be used as an informal term for a person considered a dangerous psychopath.

Example: My dog keeps licking the wall—what a weirdo!

The first records of weirdo come from the 1950s. It’s a combination of the word weird and the suffix –o, which is used to form nouns that refer to people who exhibit a certain quality, especially in a negative way, as in sicko and cheapo.

A weirdo is someone who does or says weird things. But there are shades of weirdo. Sometimes when we call people weirdos we’re trying to insult them or shame them for doing something we consider unacceptably bizarre, as in Some weirdo in my apartment keeps playing “Happy Birthday” at 3 a.m. But a weirdo might be a completely harmless eccentric—just someone who does things considered odd, like always eating pizza crust-first or naming their fingernails. Most people are a weirdo in at least some way—I mean, what kind of weirdo doesn’t do anything weird? If we value weirdness, then weirdo becomes a term of fondness and affection, and we seek out other wonderful weirdos to be weird with.

Weirdo is formed from the adjective weird but it is sometimes used as an adjective itself, as in Do you hear yourself when you suggest these weirdo ideas? It means about the same thing as weird, but it has all the same potential implications of the word weirdo when it’s used as a noun—meaning it can be positive or negative depending on the intent of the speaker.

What are some other forms related to weirdo?

• weird (adjective)

What are some synonyms for weirdo?

• eccentric
• oddball
• weirdy

What are some words that share a root or word element with weirdo? 

• weird out

What are some words that often get used in discussing weirdo?

• odd
• strange
• awkward
• creepy
• total
• complete
• freak

Weirdo is very informal. It’s used both positively and negatively depending on what the speaker wants to imply about the person they’re calling a weirdo.

If you have a picture of yourself on your phone background, you’re a total weirdo. Fact.

— Dan Beasley-Harling (@DBeasleyHarling) August 10, 2019

I'm the kind of weirdo that actually enjoys going out to eat alone 🥦🥂😆

— Damarr🧙🏿‍♂️ (@Daddy_Mar) July 20, 2019

Happy 34th anniversary to these lovable weirdos that bring me so much joy. #thephishvermont pic.twitter.com/0DW3DKjmdo

— brandon wenerd (@brandonwenerd) December 3, 2017

Is weirdo used correctly in the following sentence? 

That guy talks really weirdo.